Greyhound

Greyhounds are some of the fastest dogs on earth.

       The greyhound is a long, lean dog, distinguished by a long muzzle, very low forehead, short lips, thin and long legs, small muscles and contracted abdomen. There are several varieties, as the Irish, the Scottish, the Russian, the Italian and the Turkish. The common greyhound is universally known as the fleetest of dogs. The name appears to have no reference to the color, but is derived from the Icelandic - grey, a dog. The chief breeds are the Newmarket, the Lancashire and the Scotch.

More About Greyhound From The Web:

• Greyhound after the race - retirement and recreation
• Become a volunteer at a greyhound rescue center.
• Greyhound puppies play tug-of-war

Beaver: 12 Facts About

"As busy as a beaver." 

       The beaver is a small, furry animal, whose industry has passed into a proverb and has been the subject of many literary allusions. "As busy as a beaver" is a compliment to a man and a tribute to this little gnawing animal.

1. The beaver was once common in all northern latitudes, but trappers preyed incessantly upon it for its valuable fur, and it is now necessary to protect it by law in many places.
2. The beaver usually lives in North America, but it occurs solitary in central Europe and Asia.
3. It has short ears, a blunt nose, small forefeet, large webbed hind feet and a flat tail covered with scales on its upper surface.
4. The food of the beavers consists of the bark of trees, leaves, roots and berries. 
5. Their favorite haunts are rivers and lakes which are bordered by forests.
6. In winter they live in houses, about three feet high and seven feet across, substantially built of branches of trees and of mud, on the water's edge so that the entrance can be under water.
7. These dwellings are called beaver lodges, and each accommodates a single family.
8. The teeth of beavers are very strong, and they cut down quite large trees by gnawing around them.
9. Trees around them are felled for food, and also that their branches may be used in building their houses.
10. Beavers are most peculiar, in that sometimes many families work together in communities practically as one. If the stream on which they have located is not deep enough, or if the water does not cover land enough for them, the colony will unite and build an ingenious dam of wood, stones and mud across the stream.
11.  In the pond thus created, each member has its own home.
12. The beavers hold among animals somewhat the same position the bees have among insects, in this remarkable instinct of working in common.

More About Beavers From The Web:

• How Beavers Build Dams by PBS
• Rescue Beaver Loves Building Dams in His House
• Beavers As Engineers from the dollcoloringbook.blogspot

Baltimore O'riole

See the vivid colors of the o'riole from 

American Bird Conservancy

       Baltimore O'riole, Hangbird, Firebird, or Golden Robin, one of the most beautiful of the birds that nest in Northern United States, a relative of the blackbird. It is about seven inches long, has a black head and upper parts and brilliant orange under parts. It weaves a long, graceful, pouch-like nest, usually far out on the tip of a high limb, where it is shaded by overhanging leaves. The Baltimore oriole is a courageous bird, and is quite able to protect its nest from much stronger and larger birds. Its song is sweet and clear, and this, with its bright colors and its destructiveness to insects, makes it a great favorite with every one. It is called the Baltimore oriole because black and orange were the colors of Lord Baltimore.

More About Baltimore O'rioles From The Web:

• Wild Bird House - O'rioles Everywhere
• How to attract o'rioles
• Bird of the week: lcterus galbula or Baltimore o'rioles

Alpaca

The alpaca has soft silky wool.

        Alpaca, a cud-chewing animal of the camel tribe, a native of the Andes, especially of the mountains of Chile and Peru, and so closely allied to the llama that by some it is regarded rather as a smaller variety than a distinct species. It has been domesticated, and remains also in a wild state. In form and size the alpaca approaches the sheep, but it has a longer neck. It is valued chiefly for its long, soft and silky wool, which is straighter than that of the sheep, and very strong. The wool is woven into fabrics of great beauty. All of these are known as alpaca, and they are used for shawls, clothing for warm climates, coat-linings and umbrellas. The flesh of the alpaca is pleasant to eat and is wholesome. 

More About Alpacas From The Web:

• Cute Alpacas from The Cute Show
• Llamas vs. Alpacas by Wilderness Ridge Trail Llamas
• 8 Cute Alpaca Crafts from The Gingerbread House

Adder

       Adder a name given to certain poisonous vipers, as well as to certain harmless snakes. In the United States the term is applied to the copperhead and to the water moccasin, but in general, when the name is used without qualification, the adder of Great Britain, the only poisonous snake in the islands, is referred to.
       The puff adder or asp is a snake of South Africa whose bite is always fatal. The name is derived from the serpent's power of puffing out the upper part of its neck when irritated or alarmed. It is very thick and attains a length of four or five feet. The natives poison their arrows with its venom.

The Brave Crew teaches kids about the deadly puff adder!

Agouti

Agouti are found in South America and the West Indies.

       Agouti is the name of several rodents, forming a family by themselves. There are eight or nine species, all belonging to South America and the West Indies. The common agouti, or yellow-rumped cavy, is of the size of a rabbit. It burrows in the ground or in hollow trees, and lives on vegetables. It grunts like a pig, and is as greedy, so that where it is common it does much injury to crops. The agouti's flesh is white and palatable.

More About The Agouti From The Web:

• Meet The Agouti, The Giant Yet Lovable Rodent of The Amazon

Alligator: 14 Facts

Above are two crocodiles, American on top,
Chinese on bottom. 

The alligator a large reptile resembling the crocodile, dwelling in waters of tropical regions of the western hemisphere.

1. Alligators frequent swamps and marshes and may be seen during the day basking on the ground in the heat of the sun. 
2. Alligators are slow in growth and as they age, their growth rate slows down even more. Males are generally larger than females.
3. Nearly fifty years are required for them to reach their full, potential length.
4. They are active animals, and they prey upon whatever game comes their way. 
5. Whenever they have captured an animal, they take it into the water and eat below the surface. 
6. They are rather timid, in spite of their size, but defend themselves viciously if attacked. 
7. When on shore, they rush with open mouth at their enemies and thrash their powerful tails from side to side. 
8. The young are hatched by the sun from eggs, of which the female lays 200 or more in great heaps of vegetable matter.
9. The alligators of South America were very often called caymans. 
10. One species is known as the spectacled cayman, because of the high bony rim surrounding the orbit of each eye. 
11. In the United States the alligator is not often seen north of Florida, but at one time it was not uncommon from North Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico. 
12. There are several alligator "farms" in Florida. 
13. Millions have been killed for sport and because of their hide and ivory. 
14. The flesh of the alligator is often eaten, and the leather made from its hide is beautiful and costly.

More Alligator Facts From The Web:

• Gator Fact Sheet (pdf.) by Savannah River Ecology Labroratory
• Alligator vs. Crocodiles by What Lurks Below
• Crocodiles, Gavials, Caimans, and Alligators
• Everglades National Park
• Alligator Farming: regulations by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Supperclass Tetrapoda: Class II Reptilia

Albatross: 10 Facts About

The albatross is a large web-footed sea bird of which there are a number of species.

1. The bill of the albatross is straight and strong, the upper mandible hooked at the point and the lower one cut off squarely.
2. In color its upper parts are grayish-white and the belly white.
3. It is the largest sea bird known, some measuring seventeen and a half feet from tip to tip of their expanded wings.
4. The albatrosses are found at the Cape of Good Hope and in other parts of the southern seas, where they have been known to follow ships for whole days without ever resting.
5. They are met at great distances from the land, where they settle down on the waves at night to sleep.
6. Whenever food is abundant the birds gorge themselves to such a degree that they can neither fly nor swim.
7. Their food consists of small marine animals, carrion, fish spawn, etc. Only one large egg is laid, and that is placed in a rude nest made by scraping the earth into a ridge.
8. The young are entirely white and covered with beautiful woolly down.
9. Sailors regard the albatross with superstition and think that to kill one brings bad luck.
10. Coleridge used this belief as the foundation of his poem, The Ancient Mariner.

Learn More About The Albatross From The Web:

• The Amazing Albatrosses by Smithsonian Magazine
• 7 Ways You Can Help Albatrosses
• How to fold an origami albatross craft by Michael LaFosse
• A is for Albatross Preschool Animal Alphabet Craft
• The Albatross - idiom and mini doll sized book

Adjutant

The adjutant is a species of stork common in India, where it is protected by law because of its habit of destroying small noxious animals and acting as a scavenger. The adjutant has slate-colored back and wings, with white body and a nearly naked flesh-colored neck marked with black. It stands about five feet high, and has an enormous bill and an inflatable pouch under its neck. It was called adjutant bird because of the pompous airs it assumes, such as might be shown by a conceited army officer.

More About The Adjutant From The Web:

• The Fall & Rise of Greater Adjutant Stork by Wildlife Trust of India
• Mongooses vs. Giant Storks 
• Greater Adjutant Storks and Other Birds Forage at A Landill in Guwahati
• Birds of India - Greater Adjutant Nesting Colony by David Stanton
• Stork stories for children here

Addax

The horns of an addax are beautifully twisted.

Addax or Addas, a species of antelope of northeastern Africa. The horns of the male are about four feet long, beautifully twisted into a wide sweeping spiral of two turns and a half, with the points directed outward. The addax has tufts of hair on the forehead and throat, and large broad hoofs.

More About The Addax From The Web:

• The Addax Will Soon Be Extinct! 
• Read more about the Addax Conservation Fund
• Addax Calf Born at The Brookfield Zoo

Animal Adventure Park Teach About Addax Antelope

Aardwolf

An aardwolf resembles a hyena.

       An aardwolf is a South African carnivorous animal, fox-like in size and habit, but having longer ears and a less bushy tail. It resembles a hyena in its sloping back and in its color, the body being gray, irregularly striped with black, but it has five toes on the fore feet, and the head is much more pointed and civet-like. It feeds on carrion, white ants and the like, but not on living vertebrates. It is timid and nocturnal in its habits, social but quarrelsome in its life, and tolerably swift in its pace, though usually trusting rather to burrowing than to flight.

More About The Aardwolf From The Web:

• Proteles cristata aardwolf from Animal Diversity Web
• Aardwolf - Animal of the Week from Ben G. Thomas
• Meet the Aardwolf: a cute animal you never knew existed!

Aardvark

       An aardvark is an ant-eater found in South Africa. It is a stout animal, with long pig-like snout, tubular mouth, the usual termite-catching tongue, large ears, fleshy tail and short, bristly hair. The limbs are short and very muscular; on the fore feet are four, on the hind five, powerful claws, used in burrowing and in excavating the hills of the white ants on which it feeds. It is nocturnal in its habits and is very inoffensive and timid. When pursued, it can burrow itself out of sight in a few minutes, working inward with such rapidity as to make it almost impossible to dig it out. Its total length is about five feet, of which the tail is about one foot nine inches. Its dwelling is a burrow at a little distance from the surface, and thence it may be observed creeping at dusk. The flesh was considered a delicacy by indigenous peoples.

More About Aardvarks From The Web:

• View slideshow at National Geographic Kids
• See aardvarks at Animal Tales on YouTube
• See a 3D paper aardvark by Picaruelo
• The Anteaters

See the baby aardvark at the Cincinnati zoo.

The Ostrich

The ostriches dining on cucumbers and milk.

The Ostrich 

by Burges Johnson

A QUEERER bird has ne'er occurred
Than is the ostrich, so I've heard.
Though women flock from west and east
To pluck him for their finery,
He differs much from man, for he
Don't care for plucking in the least.
(His hide is thick, his speed is quick,
And jiminy! how he can kick!)

His special pride is his inside:
It's double-lined with Bess'mer hide.
He has no fear of golden bucks
Or other dainties of that ilk;
He laughs at cucumbers and milk
O'er pie and Neuburg gayly clucks.
(There is no strife in his home life
O'er biscuit builded by his wife.)

His motto is, "I mind my biz,
Whatever troubles have ariz."
When, overcome with shame, he tries
To shun the glaring public light,
He thinks he's wholly hid from sight
If he has merely shut his eyes.
(That frame of mind you'll often find
Has currency with humankind.)

Ostriches play hide and seek.

 

The Gnu Wooing

"The Gnus Who's Who"

 
The Gnu Wooing 

by Burges Johnson

There was a lovely lady Gnu
Who browsed beneath a spreading yew
Its stately height was her delight;
A truly cooling shade it threw.
Upon it little tendrils grew
Which gave her gentle joy to chew.
Yet oft she sighed, a-gazing wide,
And wished she knew another Gnu
(Some newer Gnu beneath the yew
To tell her tiny troubles to).

She lived the idle moments through,
And days in dull succession flew,
Till one fine eve she ceased to grieve
A manly stranger met her view.
He gave a courtly bow or two;
She coolly looked him through and through:
" I fear you make some slight mistake
Perhaps it is the yew you knew!"
(Its branches blew and seemed to coo,
" Your cue, new Gnu; it's up to you!") 

Said he: "If guests you would eschew,
I'll say adieu without ado;
But, let me add, I knew your dad;
I'm on page two, the Gnus' Who's Who."
"Forgive," she cried," the snub I threw!
I feared you were some parvegnu!
'Tis my regret we've never met
I knew a Gnu who knew of you."
(This wasn't true what's that to you?
The new Gnu knew; she knew he knew.)

"Though there are other trees, 'tis true,"
Said she, "if you're attracted to
The yews I use, and choose to chews
Their yewy dewy tendrils, do!"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The end is easily in view:
He wed her in a week or two.
The "Daily Gnus " did quite enthuse;
And now, if all I hear is true,
Beneath that yew the glad day through
There romps a little gnuey new.

The two gnus meet and greet.

Concerning The Slowness of The Sloth

A sloth hangs by the branches of a tree.

 
CONCERNING THE SLOWNESS OF THE SLOTH
by Burges Johnson

MY child, how doth
The gentle Sloth
Improve each hour where'er he go'th?
'Tis true that he,
Unlike the Bee,
Seeks not for honey ceaselessly.

He's not inclined
To slave, I find,
For others, like the faithful hind;
Nor as the ant
To toil and pant
He either won't or else he can't.

Yet there are chaps
Like him, perhaps,
Crushed down 'neath heavy handicaps,
And 'tis our place
The facts to face
And honestly to view his case.

Where'er he goes,
He always knows
He has no full supply of toes;
That's why he's not
Inclined to trot,
Lest he should harm the few he's got.

The very crown
Of his renown
Is walking branches upside down.
It is a ruse
That don't conduce
To hurry. Also, what's the use?

And if you'll look
In any book
You'll find him, if I'm not mistook,
Entitled thus:
Didactylus,
Or A-i Arctopithicus.

That name, I guess,
You will confess,
Would render you ambitionless!
So, goodness knowth,
That's why I'm loath
To cast aspersion on the Sloth.

A sloth dreams of sleep...

Two Illustrated Rhymes from The 1800's

Illustrated rhyme from St. Nicholas Book anthologies.

 "Angelina Titherington

Was not at all too smart.

She bought some cheese

and butter-beans

To make an Apple tart."

Illustrated rhyme from St. Nicholas Book anthologies.

"My little dog's 

quite clever,

When we go 

for a lark,

He's smarter then

than ever,

He'll bark and bark

and bark."

Toys At Night

Putting the toys back in the cupboard.

Toys At Night

by Fred E. Weatherly

Good-night, dear Dolly, do not fear,

For good old Dobbin's watching near,

And now and then he'll give a bray

And that will keep the ghosts away.

Good-night, dear Dobbin, stay awake

And watch o'er Dolly for my sake;

Don't let her fear - you understand,

But keep good watch in Cupboard Land.

Good-night, my dear old buther's shop,

Good-night, dear drum, and flag, and top;

When day returns we'll have such fun,

Good-night, good-night, to every one!

The Proud Miss O'Haggin

Silhouettes used to illustrate the poem.

The Proud Miss O'Haggin

by John Bennett.

The proud Miss O'Haggin

May ride in her wagon,

Her landau, or drag, in

The park all the day;

But she'd give all her leisure

And wealth beyond measure

For one half the pleasure

Down Haggerty's way,

When young Danny Gilligan

Drives Maggie Milligan

Down Murphy's hill ag'in

In his "coopay."

Choosing A Name

Name a doll of your very own!

Choosing A Name

by Charles Lamb

I have got a new-born sister;

I was nigh the first that kissed her.

When the nursing woman brought her

To papa, his infant daughter,

How papa's dear eyes did glisten!

She will shortly be to christen:

And papa has made the offer,

I shall have the naming of her.

Now I wonder what would please her,

Charlotte, Julia, or Louisa.

Ann and Mary, they're too common;

Joan's too formal for a woman;

Jane's a prettier name beside;

But we had a Jane that died.

They would say, if 'twas Rebecca,

That she was a little Quaker.

Edith's pretty, but that looks

Better in old English books;

Ellen's left off long ago;

Blanche is out of fashion

now.

None that I have named as yet

Are as good as Margaret.

Emily is neat and fine.

What do you think of Caroline?

How I am puzzled and perplexed

What to choose or think of next!

I am in a little fever.

Lest the name that I shall give her

Should disgrace her or defame her
I will leave papa to name her. 

The Cloud House

The Cloud House

by Adrian Mott

A little old man lived up in a cloud,
And he was as poor as he was proud.

When the sun came out, and the day was bright,
His dear little house was all shining white.

When evening came, and the sun went to bed,
His dear little house turned a lovely red.

When the stars came out, and they winked at him,
His dear little house was all grey and dim.

When the moon came out, shining soft and clear,
His dear little house looked ever so dear!

But the sun was so hot one very fine day
That the cloud and the little man melted away!
And where they melted to - no one can say!

The Hedgehog

The Hedgehog

by Edith King

The hedgehog is a little beast
Who likes a quiet wood,
Where he can feed his family
On proper hedgehog food.

He has a funny little snout
That's rather like a pig's,
With which he smells, like us, of course,
But also runts and digs. 

He wears the queerest prickle coat,
Instead of hair or fur,
And only has to curl himself
To bristle like a burr.

He does not need to battle with
Or run away from foes,
His coat does all the work for him,
It pricks them on the nose.

The Fowls

THE FOWLS 

by M. Nightingale

Black hens, white hens, speckled hens and

brown.

Clucking in the sunshine, strutting up and

down;

Very vain and happy they for were the truth but

known

Each thinks the loudest cackle in the farm-yard is her

own,

And each declares the egg she's left behind her in the nest

Is bigger and much better than the eggs of all the rest.

"Cackle-cackle! Cluck-a-club!

Cock-a-doodle-do!

The cock is king of Farm-yard Land,

But I am queen there, too."

White hens, brown hens, speckled hens and black,

With lots of little yellow chicks a-toddling at their

Back;

Father cock must come and look, his red comb on his head;

"Cheep at him, my pretties! Sir, be careful how

you tread!

Now are they not a lovely brood? Just see them peck

and run;

And see how my two soft warm wings will cover

every one.

Cackle-cackle! Cheepie-cheep!

Ah, Cock-a-doodle-do,

Although you're king of Farm-yard Land

I'm prouder far than you!"

Acorns

Acorns by Edith King

Oh, when the ripe acorns,
So smooth and so brown,
Get loose from their cups
And come pattering down,

What work is in store
For the girls and the boys,
First of all to collect them,
And then to make toys.

For they can make thimbles,
And tiny dolls' cradles,
And thorn-handled saucepans,
And egg-cups and ladles,

Extinguishers, flower-pots,
Baskets and rings,
And barrels and buckets,
And all kinds of things.

They can Stock a whole shop,
If they have any brains,
And use a small penknife,
And plenty of pains.

The Mole

The Mole by Edith King

The burrowing mole lives under the ground
Day in and day out, all the changing year round;
Like a train in a tunnel, in darkness he goes,
And makes his own track with his feet and his nose.

He lives upon worms as content as can be
For breakfast and supper, for dinner and tea,
Yes, just as they are, as a matter of course,
He gobbles them up, without cooking or sauce.

If you lived where he does, in a very short time
I fear you'd be covered completely with grime;
But though he works hard all day long for his meat
And has but one coat, he is perfectly neat.

It's not very often he visits the light,
Except when he's angry and anxious to fight;
Then he and his enemy leave their dark holes,
And in warfare there's nothing more savage than moles.

Their virtues are great, but their tempers are bad,
Biting and scratching, they scuffle like mad,
And over and over they roll in the ditch,
Until it's a puzzle to see which is which. 

But if they discover you watching the fray,
They leave off at once to get out of the way,
And burrow so quickly, scarce making a sound,
That before you count ten they're gone into the ground.

Silhouette Paper Cuts by Baroness Maydell

The two sisters by Baroness Maydell

A lady or a bride by Baroness Maydell