The Praying Mantis

Mary screamed, there is a great big insect on the coffee machine, sure enough crawling round on top was a Praying Mantis, so named for the way they stand with their claws in the praying position. there are about 2000 species worldwide, this one was an Iris Oratorio.
They are a carniverous insect, eating mainly insects, and they will eat each other. When threatened, praying mantids stand tall and spread their forelegs with their wings fanning out wide and mouths open. The fanning of the wings is used to make the mantis seem larger and to scare the opponent, with some species having bright colors and patterns on their hind wings and inner surfaces of their front legs for this purpose. If harassment persists, the mantis will then strike with their forelegs and attempt to pinch, bite or slash. They also may make a hissing sound.

hoop, hoop, Hoopoe

I have seen 3 hoopoes in the last two days around the Formentera area, what a beautiful bird. The hoopoe is an exotic looking bird that is the size of a mistle thrush. It has a pinkish-brown body, striking black and white wings, a long black downcurved bill, and a long pinkish-brown crest which it raises when excited. It lives in open country with a scattering of old trees, olive groves, orchards or small woods. Its call is a soft, low, resonant ‘hoop, hoop, hoop’

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Buying/Selling a car

Privately selling a your car on the Costas is a bit hit and miss, you can advertise in the British language newspapers, on the internet or sell to a dealer, but what a lot of people do is put a for sale(se vende) sign, with a price and phone number on the car window, park in a highly visible area or as you drive you advertise, then wait for a phone call, i brought my last car like this from a nice old Spanish guy, we did the deal with my little Spanish language, he had no English. the car cost me 500 euros 18 month ago and its still going strong, having done about 10000k

- and it went through the ITV(MOT)Test first time.