The Taiwan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea), also called the Taiwan Magpie or Formosan Blue Magpie, is a member of the Crow family. It is an endemic species living in the mountains of Taiwan at elevations of 300 to 1200m.

“A snapshot from mountaineer's life”. Have you ever wondered how does a mountaineer's day start? I will give you a hint: you wake up at 3 am, set the stove, wake up your partner, pretend it is warm, quickly consume a high-calorie breakfast, watch your friends slowly ascending the icy slopes of your dream summit with their tiny head torches glimmering against perfectly blue ice, and hope for the good weather. One would ask: why all this trouble? The answer is easy: for the love of the adventure and the unknown. Location: Chamonix, Haute Savoye, France. (Photo and caption by Kamil Tamiola/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

A golden huddle by Minqiang Lu, China. Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme cold. Threatened by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. In heavy wind and snow, Minqiang walked up the mountain carrying his equipment. He stayed for half an hour in temperatures of –10C opposite the tree where the group was huddled before achieving this eye-level composition. (Photo by Minqiang Lu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Villagers take part in Kolyada holiday celebrations in the village of Martsiyanauka, east of the capital Minsk, January 21, 2015. Local residents took part in the celebrations to mark the end of a pagan winter holiday Kolyada, which over the centuries has merged with Orthodox Christmas celebrations. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Female porters carry a holy woman belonging to the Jain community through a street to collect food from local residents living in nearby areas, during early morning in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 19, 2014. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

Mount Sinabung is seen during an eruption from Surbakti village in Karo, North Sumatra, Indonesia, April 20, 2015. The local government is preparing the relocation of residents from three of the villages that were destroyed. (Photo by Tibta Pangin/Getty Images/Anadolu Agency)

Residents cross a swelling dam, due to rising waters brought about by Typhoon Koppu, in Las Pinas city, metro Manila October 19, 2015. Powerful typhoon Koppu ploughed into the northeastern Philippines before dawn on Sunday destroying homes and displacing 10,000 people and whipping up coastal surges four meters (12 feet) high, disaster agency officials said. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

A heat-stressed koala waits as a resident pours water on its back on December 19, 2015 in Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide is experiencing an extreme heatwave, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees for five consecutive days. (Photo by Morne de Klerk/Getty Images)