David Curl / Lightning over Ayers Rock, Uluru NP, Northern Territory, Australia, desert

Mark Moffett / Soldier Beetle (Cantharidae) feeding on Southern Magnonia (Magnolia grandiflora) flower nectar, National Arboretum, Washington D.C.

Mark Moffett / Students picking lettuce to prepare salad under direction of Michelle Obama and White House chef Sam Kassat, White House, Washington D.C.

Mark Moffett / Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) hive brought in by Charlie Brandts, White House, Washington D.C.

Mark Moffett / President Obama's personal chef Sam Kass in Michelle Obama's vegetable garden, White House, Washington D.C.

Michael Hutchinson / House / Common Sparrow (Passer domesticus), perched on ground, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / Ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) sub-adult beside city lake with Capitol Building in the background, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / House / Common Sparrow (Passer domesticus) male perched in yew hedge outside Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / Monitoring giant pandas using CCTV at Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / House / Common Sparrow (Passer domesticus), perched on ground, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / Fishing Cat (Prionailurus / Felis viverrina), captive, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / House / Common Sparrow (Passer domesticus) female perched in yew hedge outside Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Washington DC, USA

Michael Hutchinson / Micronesian Kingfisher (Todiramphus cinnamominus) Extinct in the wild (originally from Guam, Palau Islands, Micronesia), captive, Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington DC, USA

David Curl / Blue winged kookaburra and recently hatched young at nest in a tree trunk, Kakadu NP, Northern Territories, Australia

David Curl / Dromedary camel calf {Camelus dromedarius} central Australia

David Curl / Bush fire at the end of the dry season. Kakadu NP, Northern Territory, Australia

David Curl / Aerial view of Jim Jim Falls, wet season. Kakadu NP, Northern Territory, Australia

David Curl / Ayers Rock surrounded by water in wet season, Uluru NP, Northern Territory, Australia.

David Curl / Baby Meerkat (Suricata suricata) eating gecko, Kalahari Gemsbok NP, South Africa

Kim Taylor / Male Great spotted woodpecker {Dendrocopos major} with chick at nest hole, in dead birch. Surrey, England. DC]

Kim Taylor / Scarlet Ibis {Eudocimus ruber} small flock in flight, South America. [Trinidad, West Indies DC]

David Curl / Suricate / Meerkat {Suricata suricatta} juvenile feeding on Gecko, Kalahari Gemsbok NP, South Africa

Gerry Ellis / Orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) male, National Zoo, Washington DC, native to tropical lowland forests of Sumatra and Borneo

STEPHEN BOLWELL / Trilobite fossil, Smithsonian, Washington DC, USA

Phil Savoie / United States Capitol building floodlit at night, Washington DC, USA

Phil Savoie / United States Capitol building floodlit at night, Washington DC, USA

David Curl / Indian rhinoceros with calf, Chitwan NP, Nepal, India.

David Curl / Suricate (also known as meerkat) male on guard duty, Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, South Africa

David Curl / Suricate (meerkat) warming in morning sun, Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, S. Africa

David Curl / Rain at Ayers Rock (Uluru). Uluru NP, N Territory, Australia

David Curl / Saltwater crocodile eating file snake, Kakadu NP, Australia

David Curl / Fire at night in tropical eucalypt forest, Kakadu NP, Australia

David Curl / Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu NP, Northern Territory, Australia.

David Curl / Male meerkat on guard duty (Suricate) {Suricata suricatta} Kalahari, Gemsbok NP, Botswana

David Curl / Desert frog {Notaden nichollsi} Uluru NP Australia

David Curl / Dromedary camels, Australia

David Curl / Newly hatched Blue winged kookaburra (Dacelo leachii) chick in nest hole, Kakadu NP Australia