Rainforests
In popular terms, we know them as "jungles" (although, this is a corruption of a Hindi word meaning "waste ground"), more accurately they are tropical rainforests and are the most biodiverse land habitats that exist. They occupy less than 3% of the world’s surface area, but are home to more than 50% of all known animal and plant species.
Drenched by rain, shrouded in mists, uncomfortably humid and home to unfathomable numbers of irritating and unpleasant biting insects etc. rainforests are frustrating but fantastic places to photograph. Heaven according to Nick, not Hell. He has spent more time photographing wildlife in rainforests, than any other habitat. The challenges the environment poses are many, the wildlife often unco-operative, yet the pleasures and rewards are so great that his passion for rainforests grows with every visit.
Pitta-like Ground Roller (Atelornis pittoides) in rainforest undergrowth. Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, eastern Madagascar.
Adult male Proboscis Monkey (Nasalis larvatus) feeding in mangrove forest. Bako National Park, Sarawak, Borneo.
Eye of Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus). Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo.
Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus) resting at base of buttress root on rainforest floor. Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo.
Silhouette of Wallace's Flying Frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) on palm leaf. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Social paper wasp colony (family Vespidae, subfamily Polistinae) on nest. Masoala National Park, Madagascar. (digital composite image)
Spotted Tree Frog (Boophis rappoides). Rainforest understorey, Mantadia National Park, Madagascar.
Bathing Sumatran Elephants (Elephas maximus sumatrans). Gunung Leseur National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia.
Sunrise and rainforest canopy. Kinabatangan River, Sukau, Sabah, Borneo.
Sunrise and mist over lowland dipterocarp rainforest, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Sunrise over the canopy of dipterocarp rainforest. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.
Sword-billed Hummingbird (Ensifera ensifera). Yanacocha montane forest, Ecuador.
