Animal Qualities
Ride the high meadow.
Animals grouped here express a similar quality through their behavior in nature. Each species still has its own principle, lesson, meaning, and field-guide page.
7 species
Species principle: Highland Agility
Ride the high meadow.
Movement lightens when the body knows the mountain wind.
Andean Lapwings inhabit high-altitude wetlands and grasslands, using broad wings, alert calls, and agile flight in open Andean landscapes.
Species principle: Ocean Handling
Turn over waves.
Far travel belongs to the one that can turn lightly over rough water.
Black-browed Albatrosses use long narrow wings and dynamic soaring to travel over Southern Ocean winds and waves while foraging across large distances.
Species principle: Canopy Venom
Strike from the branches.
Danger can hang lightly from branches before anyone sees the strike.
Boomslangs are arboreal snakes with large eyes and rear-fanged venom delivery. They hunt in trees and shrubs, feeding on birds, eggs, lizards, and other prey.
Species principle: Green Velocity
Flash through green.
Lightness becomes power when the path is vertical.
Green mambas are slender, agile arboreal snakes that move quickly through vegetation while using green coloration as cover.
Species principle: Desert Lightness
Bounce the desert.
Cross hard ground without becoming heavy.
Jerboas use elongated hind legs, hopping locomotion, and light bodies to move efficiently across desert terrain.
Species principle: Beach Discretion
Vanish on sand.
In exposed places, survival comes from moving lightly and disappearing quickly.
Piping Plovers nest and forage on open sandy beaches, using pale plumage, quick stop-start movement, and camouflage to avoid detection.
Species principle: Arctic Distance
Wander lightly.
Lightness can carry farther than force.
Xemes, or Sabine's gulls, migrate long distances and use light seabird flight across Arctic and oceanic routes.
