Angkor Wat, or ‘temple city’ as it means, is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. The Hindu temple was originally built as a dedication to the god Vishnu, and was later converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, where statues of Buddha were added to further enrich its artwork.
This god is located within the upper level of the main temple which is accessed by a steep stone staircase and the views of the surrounding area are breathtaking.
This is one of the stone faces at the South Gate of the Angkor Temples and is in itself just one of the five main gates into the ancient Angkor Thom.
Angkor Thom literally means “Great City”, and it covers an area of 9 sq km. It was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire being established in the late 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.
At the centre of the city is Jayavarman’s state temple, the magnificent Bayon.
Ta Keo was possibly the first temple to be built by the Khmers entirely of sandstone. It’s a massive five-layered pyramid which rises 22m (72ft) from ground level.
It was the state temple of Jayavarman V, who as a ten year old boy succeeded his father, Rajendravarman, to the throne in 968. During the early part of his reign times were turbulent and the court officials dominated the royal political scene. However, when he was aged seventeen, he began the vast construction of his own state temple, Ta Keo.
In contrast to the grand sprawl of the Angkor Wat complex, Bayon was at the heart of the what was the largest known settlement complex of the pre-industrial world. It’s known that the temple once consisted of over 200 smiling stone faces carved into the 50 towers. Today only 37 towers remain.
This stunning and compact temple is located just a few miles from the Cambodian town of Siem Reap.
This bird is thought to have consumed a pesticide infected rodent and was immediately transferred to a barn owl sanctuary for treatment. It soon recovered and was returned to its habitat.
There has been a notable decline in Barn owl numbers in Ireland. The reasons for this are not fully understood, but can most likely be attributed to the loss of suitable habitat due to various aspects of intensified agricultural practices, especially the increased use of harmful pesticides. The barn owl is the most widespread species of landbird in the world, occurring in every single continent except Antarctica.
Pheasants often break cover from a corn field, or vineyard in this instance at high speed. Feeding on ground cover, they have to rise through the crop and flee in haste. Expecting to hear the sound of gunshot as the shooting season starts, this bird put on a fly-past performance that was hard to follow!
Male birds are highly decorated with bright colours and have a longer tail than the females. They typically eat seeds and a few insects.
While paddling in a canoe on a peaceful stretch of swamp water in North Carolina, this bald eagle flew gracefully overhead to check out the visitors.
Paddling deep into the swamp, it wasn’t long before we located the eerie in a tall dead tree and were pleased to find two well grown chicks still at the site.
Seagulls in search of a meal as they encircle the dock area. With several boats moored and occupied in this attractive small town on the North Carolina coastline, there is always an opportunity for food.
It was around these shores that the notorious pirate Black Beard, aka Edward Teach from England, plied his trade in the 17th and 18th-centuries. It was in Beaufort inlet that his ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge ran aground on a sandbar and was damaged beyond repair.
The range of the scarlet ibis is very large, and colonies are found throughout vast areas of South America and the Caribbean islands.
Their long, thin bills are used to seek out food in soft muddy areas and under plant-life. Their diet consists of shrimps and certain insects, some of which are ground beetles and scarabs.
Flamingo comes from the Spanish word flamengo meaning, “flame-coloured”. These two birds were busying themselves in some late afternoon preening of feathers.
Flamingos normally stand on one leg while the other on is tucked underneath their body. This may allow the birds to conserve more body heat, as they are known to spend much of their time wading in cold water.
The blue and yellow macaw is a large South American parrot, also referred to as macaws. The groups inhabit woodland and afforested areas of South America. However, they are under severe threat from poaching due to their close bonding to humans and are also widely traded in local markets.
Red-and-green macaws inhabit the forests and woodlands of northern and central South America. Sadly in recent years, as with other macaws, there has been a large decline in numbers due to illegal trading and loss of habitat.
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