Wildlife Stencils for The Classroom

Stencil of bird in flight with out-stretched wings.

    Be sure to click directly on the stencils in order to download the largest file size. These four wildlife stencils for educators to use in their classrooms are duty free: bluebird, jay, running rabbit and a squirrel holding an acorn.

Stencil of a jay sitting on the limb of a tree.

Stencil of a running rabbit or hare.

Stencil of a squirrel holding a hazel nut.

Falling Leaves, Squirrels Up Trees...

Silhouettes of oak leaves.

       These two pages of Fall/Autumn paper cuts are by Beckwith. You may cut them from cardboard and trace around them to create fall vignettes in your classroom or paper cut-outs for crafting with young students.

Silhouette of squirrel eating acorns in a tree.

Echidna

       The echidna or spiny ant-eater, a genus of Australian toothless mammals, in size and general appearance resembling a large hedgehog, excepting that the spines are longer, and the muzzle is long and slender, with a small opening at the end through which a long, flexible tongue can be thrust. The echidna sleep during the day.

       It has short, strong legs and its five toes are armed with powerful claws so that it can burrow easily in the ground. It feeds upon ants and other insects, which it catches with its long, sticky tongue. It is nearly allied to the oraithorhynchus or duckbill, and the two form a peculiar class of animals, having in their structure some of the peculiarities that mark mammals, birds and reptiles.

More About Echidna From The Web:

• Echidna Babies Are Real Weird by Animallogic
• Living Ball of Spikes!

Foxhound

       A foxhound is a high-spirited hound that has a keen scent, remarkable perseverance and great endurance. It is easily trained and becomes very skillful in hunting foxes. Somewhat smaller than the staghound, the foxhound seems to be a cross between the staghound or the bloodhound and the greyhound. It is commonly of a white color, with patches of black and tan, has short hair, large and straight limbs and large, thin ears. Its usual height is about twenty inches.

More About Foxhounds from The Web:

• Read About The Breed: AKA - American Foxhound
• The English Foxhound At A Glance

Flamingo: 10 Fun Facts

The flamingo is a strange-looking bird, whose body is rather smaller than that of the stork, but which, owing to its great length of neck and leg, measures on average six feet, from head to foot. 

10 Fun Facts About Flamingos:

1. There are several different species found in Mediterranean and tropical countries, all more or less red in color and varying in size. 
2. They migrate in V-shaped flocks. 
3. Their necks are extremely slender and flexible, and their big, naked bills are bent abruptly down, as if broken near the middle.
4. In feeding, the bird stands nearly erect, thrusting its neck downward and burying its bill and perhaps its head in the water, with the top of the bill downward. 
5. It then sways its head from side to side, causing currents of water to pass back and forth through the bill, where fine horny projections strain out the seeds and the small animals that are stirred up from the bottom by the bird's feet. 
6. The birds nest in the warm countries in large colonies, upon muddy flats near the water level. 
7. Their nests are big cones of reeds and sticks, cut off squarely at such a height that the mother bird can sit with her legs dangling down the sides, though she usually sits with them folded up beneath her.
8. The flamingo of North America nests in the latitude of Florida. 
9. The male has a light red plumage, whose large feathers have black quills; the females are pale pink and the young nearly white. 
10. As is the case with other beautiful birds, their handsome plumes made them sought by hunters in the past and laws have been passed for their protection.

More About Flamingos From The Web:

• Captured Flamingos Get Hydrotheraphy
• How baby flamingos get their pink color

Flamingos at Lake Nakuru by Ruedi Abbuhl.

Bower-bird: The Great "Seducer"

       The bower-bird , a name given to several different birds living in Australia or the Pacific islands. They are so called because in the nesting season they build remarkable bowers to serve as places of resort. These are constructed on the ground, usually under overhanging branches in secluded parts of the forest. There the male birds meet and dance and go through the queer antics that are supposed to attract their mates. One species even uses small shells for decoration; another bird builds a tent-like structure around a sapling, using for rafters the stem of an orchid that continues to blossom after it is picked; still another uses only feathers. This fondness for bright things is not confined to the bower-birds, though no other birds seem to possess it to so great a degree. The magpie may be mentioned as an American illustration of this trait.

More About Bower-bird From The Web:

• Bowerbirds Pull Off a Jewel Heist
• Satin Bowerbird part 1 and part 2 by SuperBruceallen
• The Vogelkop Bowerbird: Nature's Great Seducer

Thirty Feet! How Many Do You Know?

       Just as a good shoemaker makes shoes to fit the feet, nature make feet to fit the needs of each individual animal. How many of these feet could you name? They are, from left to right, top to bottom: Horse, Elephant, Eagle, Ostrich, Camel; second row - Chimpanzee, Tiger, Duck, Water Shrew, Lizard, Tiger, Beetle; third row - Sloth, Bear, Locust, Flamingo, Duck-billed Platypus, Crab: fourth row- Peccary, Garden Spider, Giraffe, Frog, Armadillo, Ox; and fifth row- Kangaroo, Box Turtle, Squirrel, Iguana, Harvest Mouse, and Gecko.

Duck: 11 Fun Facts

The 12 Most Beautiful Ducks in The World

 by 4 Ever Green. 

       A duck is a web-footed bird, related to the goose and the swan. It is everywhere considered a table delicacy, especially a number of the wild varieties, and therefore within reasonable limits it is the legitimate prey of sportsmen. 

11 Fun Facts About Ducks:

1. Game laws protect it except during a short season in the autumn.
2. The species can be classed as deep sea ducks, which often obtain their food by diving to a great depth, and river ducks, which remain in shallow water.
3. Some species are migratory, going northward in summer to their breeding places.
4. The duck's food is partly vegetable, partly animal.
5. Ducks have short, thick bodies, covered with thick feathers, under which is a fine, soft down.
6. In some varieties the feathers are beautifully colored. 
7. The bill is broad and flat, with toothed edges, for holding or straining food. 
8. The head is rather large; the neck, long and gracefully curved, yet much shorter than the neck of the goose or swan. 
9. The feathers are well oiled from glands situated ahead of the tail, and are therefore waterproof. 
10. A peculiar characteristic of the short legs is that they are located back of the center of the body; this causes a strange movement in walking, sometimes called a "waddle."
11. The food of the wild ducks consists largely of insects, minnows, small frogs, grain, grasses, etc.

More Types of Ducks:

       The common mallard, or wild duck, is the original of the domestic duck. In its wild state the male is characterized by the deep green plumage of the head and neck, by a white collar separating the green from the dark chestnut of the lower part of the neck and by having the four middle feathers of the tail recurved. Some tame ducks have nearly the same plumage as the wild ones; others vary greatly, being generally duller or pure white, but all the males have the four recurved tail feathers. There are several favorite varieties of the domestic duck, those of Normandy and Picardy in France and the Aylesbury ducks in England, being remarkable for their great size!

More About Ducks on The Web:

• Duck Army Invades China!
• Ducks Protect Vineyards in South Africa and Another Quack Squad Rescue

Seal: 12 Interesting Facts

Earless Seal. See many other types at wikipedia.

       A seal is a warm-blooded, air- breathing, animal that lives both in the water and on the land. A few seals are found in the Caspian Sea and Lake Baikal, but, with these exceptions, all seals are inhabitants of the sea. They are divided into two classes, called true seals, which have no external ears, and eared seals.

12 Interesting Facts About Seals In General:

1. The seal has a body which is large at the front and tapers toward the tail, like that of the whales. 
2. It has four legs, which are almost covered by the skin of the body, while in place of the feet are fins or flippers. 
3. The hind legs are used in swimming, and the fore legs support the animal in an erect position when he is on the land. 
4. The mouth is large and is surrounded by numerous feelers, resembling those of the cat. 
5. The eyes are large, with an almost human expression, and the ears are small or entirely lacking. 
6. The body is covered by thick, woolly fur and long, shining hair, and all is so oily and smooth that it enables the seal to move easily through the "water."
7. Seals are air-breathing animals, but they can remain under water for a considerable time.
8. They are expert divers and swimmers, but are exceedingly awkward on land.
9. Seals inhabit the cool waters of the temperate and polar regions and usually return to the same spot year after year to breed. 
10. They live in herds, and before they were hunted many of these herds "were of enormous size. 
11. They frequent rocks in shallow places and icebergs, where they come at breeding time and remain to rear their young. 
12. Most species are easily tamed, and they often form great attachment for their keepers and are easily taught ingenious and amusing tricks.

A fur seal rests on the rocks.

       The hair seal, which is the common seal of the Atlantic coast, has long, silky hair, and was once valuable for its skin and fat, called blubber. 

5 Facts About Hair Seals:

1. This seal was captured in large numbers off Newfoundland, Labrador, Jan Meyen Island and in the White Sea. 
2. The inhabitants of Greenland hunted these seals for food and clothing, but they took only a sufficient number to supply their needs. 
3. In many places these seals have been nearly exterminated by hunters, because the skins made good leather, and a valuable oil was extracted from the blubber. 
4. The hair-seal industry was really more important than the fur-seal industry, although it did not receive as much attention. 
5. The danger of exterminating these animals has become so imminent that international agreements restricting the hunting of the animals are routinely drafted signed and updated. 

• See Fur Seal Act of 1966 and Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972

       The fur seal or sea bear is highly valued for its fur, which consists of a thick, woolly hair next the skin, very fine and compact, usually of a dark brown color. Over this grows long, coarse hair, which is of some shade of gray. The fur seals are found in the water of the cool temperate or polar regions north and south of the equator.

More About Fur Seals from The Web:

• Northern Fur Seals at The Marine Mammal Center
• Northern Fur Seals at The Seattle Aquarium

Fur Seals Overcome Extinction On "Resurrection Island"

by National Geographic

Dodo

       The dodo an extinct genus of birds, said to be related to the pigeons. The dodo was a massive, clumsy bird, larger than a swan. and covered with down instead of feathers. It walked on short, ill-shaped legs and had wings and tail so short as to be useless for flight. The birds were once numerous on the island of Mauritius, but it has been two hundred years since the last one was seen. Several perfect specimens are preserved in the British Museum. They furnish the world's sole present knowledge of the bird. 

Scientists Finally Know The Real Reason 

Dodos Went Extinct by Grunge

Catbird

       A catbird is a common American thrush, so named because one of its calls sounds like the mewing of a cat. It is found throughout the Northern and Middle states, in thickets and shrubberies, where it lives an active existence, chiefly in the pursuit of insects. Its plumage is a deep slate color above and lighter below, with a reddish-brown patch on the lower tail coverts. Its song is varied and fine, largely in imitation of the songs of other birds. In winter it retires to the extreme southern parts of the United States, or even to Mexico and Central America.

More About Catbirds On The Web:

• Catbird Mew Calls by MyBackyardBirding
• Dominique Lalonde Films Nature of Gray Catbird

Dugong

Dugong mammas float upright to hold their tiny
 babies out of the ocean while they nurse.

       The dugong is a native mammal of the Indian seas, resembling the whale in some respects. It has a tapering body, ending in a crescent-shaped, finlike tail, and is said sometimes to attain a length of twenty feet, though generally it is about seven or eight feet long. The thick, smooth skin is bluish on the upper and white on the lower parts of the body, and bears a few scattered bristles. The dugong's food consists of marine plants, which it finds in the mouths of large rivers. 

More About Dugong on The Web:

• Dugongs of The Philippines by Jonathan Bird's Blue World
• What in the World is A Dugong?
• Meet Australia's Only Captive Dugongs
• Color a momma dugong with her baby

Capybara

       A capybara a species of rodent, sometimes known by the name of the water hog. It attains the length of about three feet, and has a very large and thick head, a thick body, covered with short, coarse, brown hair, and short legs, with long feet. It has no tail. The capybara is common in several parts of South America, and particularly in Brazil. It feeds on vegetables. In the water the animal is perfectly at home. Its flesh is edible.

More About Capybara From The Web:

• Capybara are the friendliest animals by Animals are Awesome
• Dog and Capybara by Crazy Cody's Creatures

Carp

The High Stakes of the Great Lakes - Asian Carp are Invasive Species

       Carp, a family of fresh-water fishes native to Southwestern Asia, but now acclimated in all parts of the world. Carp is a favorite food fish of Europe, but because of the coarseness of its flesh it is not so well liked in the United States. It thrives and multiplies rapidly in ponds and sluggish streams, and the United States Fish Commission has stocked many such bodies of water with it. The leather carps have no scales. Other species are brilliantly colored, while still others are dull.

More About Carp From The Web:

• Eating Away Indiana's Asian Carp Problem
• Asian Carp Processing Plant in Kentucky
• Cashing in On Asian Carp!

Chamois

A Chamois is a goat-like antelope, living in the high mountains of Europe and Western Asia.

7 Facts About Chamois:

1. It is a rather small animal, with a brownish coat that changes to faun color in summer and gray in the spring.
2. Its head is of a pale yellow color, marked by a black band surrounding the eyes and extending from the nose to the ears.
3. Its horns, which are about six or seven inches long, are round and almost smooth, and they grow straight upward until near the tip, where they suddenly end in a sharp hook that is bent backward.
4. The tail is black.
5. During the feeding time, which is in the morning, one animal is always standing on guard in some prominent place for the purpose of warning the rest of approaching danger.
6. The fleetness of the chamois, the roughness of the mountains which it inhabits, and its powers of smell, make its pursuit both difficult and dangerous.
7. Though the flesh is highly prized as food, the chief value of a chamois lies in its skin, which is used to make the very soft, flexible leather known as chamois skin.

More About Chamois From The Web:

• What is a chamois? Candid Animal Cam takes you to high-altitude Europe
• Chamois (goat-antalope) grazing by ArtoftheImage

Koala: 5 Facts About

       A koala is an Australian animal, in appearance somewhat resembling a small bear, hence, sometimes called the native hear. 

5 Facts About The Koala:

1. It differs from all other quadrupeds in that its toes are divided into groups of two and three. 
2. This arrangement enables the animal easily to grasp and hang from the branches of trees. 
3. The koala is about two feet long and is covered with a short, gray, wooly fur. 
4. It roams at night and feeds on leaves, chiefly of the eucalyptus. 
5. Like the kangaroo, the female koala carries her young in a pouch. 

More From The Web About Koalas:

• Visit Recovering Koalas at The Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia
• The Koala is A Species On The Move

Koala Sitting for those that are fragile 

and need a little extra help.

Sea Urchin

Meet the purple sea urchin at 
Monterey Bay Aquarium.

       Sea Urchin or Echinus, a genus of sea animals, belonging to the same group as the starfish, sea lily and sea cucumber. The body of the sea urchin is more or less globular and covered with a shell which is often studded with movable spines. Sea urchins, of which there are many species, are found in shallow water in almost all parts of the world, those of the tropical regions being largest.

More About Sea Urchins from The Web:

• Classification of Southern California Sea Urchins
• Sea Urchins from Patriots Point Science Spotlight
• Pacific Purple Sea Urchin

Jay: 8 Fun Facts

An American blue jay.

        Jay, a bird related to the crow, but of smaller size.

8 Fun Facts About Jays:

1. It has a trim shape and beautiful plumage, blue usually predominating".
2. Some species have long tails and high crests.
3. The jays have harsh voices and do not sing, but some of them are skillful in imitating the calls of other birds.
4. They are noted for their fighting disposition and for the bad habit of destroying the nests, eggs and even the young of weaker birds.
5. Some of the jays are brilliantly colored.
6. The beautiful American blue jay is bright blue marked with black and white.
7. The Canada jay, or ichisky Jack, or lumber Jack, is a bird of rather somber coloring, but with the bold, noisy and active habits of the other jays.
8. The common European jay is cinnamon-colored, varied with white, black and blue. Its head is provided with a conspicuous black-marked crest.

More About Jays From The Web:

• Blue Jay or Cyanocitta cristata from Missouri Dept. of Conservation
• 7 Beautiful Jays That Aren't So Famous
• LesleytheBirdNerd has more about blue jays... lots more.

Sea Lion: 9 Facts About

A sea lion suns himself on rocky cliffs.

       A sea lion, the name given to a large group of eared seals, which, though closely related to the fur seals, were not trapped as often for skinning.

9 Facts About Sea Lions:

1. All have long, cylindrical bodies, small, round heads, pointed noses, thick skin, with an under layer of fat for protection against cold, and coarse hair.
2. The individuals of some species have manes.
3. The largest animals, belonging to the Steller group, attain a weight of a thousand pounds and more, and a length of fourteen feet.
4. Their particular habitat is the North Pacific.
5. The natives of the Aleutian Islands caught thousands of these seals once. They used the flesh for food, the hide for shoes and boats and the sinews for thread.
6. Another group, called California sea lions, is made up of smaller animals.
7. Sea lions are seen in large numbers on the Pacific coast cliffs.
8. They are peaceable creatures, but if attacked defend themselves fiercely.
9. They are protected by law, but a few are allowed to be taken for menageries and zoological gardens. 

More About Sea Lions From the Web:

• California Sea Lion: Protected by NOAA Fisheries
• Sea Lions Are Endangered
• Baby Sea Lions Sick and Starving To Death

Canary

Tiny hatching canaries by Monika Pakeka

       A canary is a small finch, originally from the Canary Islands and Madeira, but introduced into Europe several hundred years ago. It is the most popular of all cage birds because of its cheerful singing and friendly nature. Canaries have been bred in captivity so long that many remarkable varieties have developed, scarcely resembling the greenish little bird of Madeira. The topknots of some, the long, slender shapes of others, the yellows, browns, reds and blacks seen in their plumage are all unnatural. The Scotch fancy canary, with his long, slender, curved body, bent almost to a semicircle, is one of the strangest results of breeding.

More About Canaries From The Web:

• How to Take Care of a Canary & Finch as Pets
• Best Trained Canary by Cazuza Roxy

Sea Cucumbers

sea cumbers are sold according
to their weight and species.

      Sea Cucumbers, or Holothuria, the name of a group of sea animals, belonging to the same branch of starfishes, sea urchins and sea lilies. They are covered with a tough, leathery skin which is perforated with holes, through which the foot-tentacles protrude. The animals are capable of contracting and extending themselves to several times their ordinary length, and they will reproduce to an extraordinary degree parts of the body which are cut away or destroyed. They abound along the eastern coast of Asia, and some species are edible.

More About Sea Cucumbers From The Web:

• How sea cucumbers can help the ocean
• Why Sea Cucumbers Are So Expensive
• Zanzibar Sea Cucumber Training 2019
• Sea cucumbers, an unknown resource

Echinodermata starfishes, etc...

Scorpion: 11 Elemental Facts

There are approx. 20 species
in the United States.

       Scorpion, the name of a group of animals belonging to the same class as the spiders.

11 Elemental Facts About Scorpion:

1. They live in tropical and warm temperate regions, and are not found in America north of Nebraska.
2. In the southern part of the United States there are about twenty species.
3. The body consists of two parts, one containing the head and thorax and called the cephalothorax, and the other a long, jointed abdomen, the last five segments of which form a tail.
4. Four pairs of legs and two pairs of mandibles or pincers are attached to the cephalothorax; the second pair of pincers resemble a lobster's claws.
5. The abdomen contains breathing pores and the last segment of the tail is armed with a sharp poisonous sting, the poison being secreted by two glands at its base.
6. The eyes vary in number from six to twelve, according to the species.
7. Scorpions are usually black or yellowish in color.
8. The young are carried on the body of the mother for several days after birth. They cling to her body by the pincers.
9. Scorpions remain hidden in crevices and under rocks by day, and are active at night.
10. They feed upon insects and spiders, and are dreaded by man because their sting causes a serious and painful wound, though it is seldom fatal.
11. The poison should be sucked from the wound as soon as possible, and the wound bathed with ammonia, which should be also taken internally. 

More About Scorpions from The Web:

• Scorpion at The San Diego Zoo
• Scorpions by ScienceDirect
• Insects and Scorpions - Health and Safety from CDC

Crafts About Arachnids:

• Draw a Design from A Spider's Web
• Craft a Ruote Pasta Web
• Draw a Shaded White Spider Web

Sepia Or Cuttlefish

Watch Kisslip Cuttlefish Changing Colors from

Monterey Bay Aquarium

       Sepia, the name of a cuttlefish, also of a pigment used by painters to produce a beautiful brown color prepared from the secretion of an organ in the cuttlefish, called the ink bag. The original black color is changed to brown by dissolving in caustic potash. This solution, after boiling and filtering, forms the sepia of commerce. The black coloring matter obtained from the ink bags is marketed, after undergoing several processes, as India ink. 

More About Cuttlefish From The Web:

• Cuttlefish Use Hypnosis to Hunt
• Can Cuttlefish Camouflage in a Living Room?
• How To Clean Squid or Cuttlefish - without bursting the ink sack (If you were harvesting fish for sepia ink, you would need to know how to remove the ink sack

Cheetah

Leopard on top, Cheetah on bottom.

       Cheetah is an animal of the cat family, found principally in Africa and India, and most commonly known as the limiting Jeopard. It derives this name from the fact that it can be trained to hunt antelopes and other like game. The cheetah has a little longer body in proportion to its size than the other cats, and its legs are slender. It can maintain a greater speed for a short distance than can any other land mammal. 

More About Cheetahs From The Web:

• Learn About The Cheetah at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
• The Cheetah's Wild Life
• You Can't Outrun a Cheetah by Animalogic

Crafts About Cats:

• Paper cut of a very fuzzy cat (template)
• How to draw a Halloween Cat
• Old-Fashioned Halloween Silhouettes (templates)

Chameleon: 5 Foundational Facts

Chameleon a genus of lizards, natives of the Old World, but found also in the Southern United States and the West Indies.

5 Foundational Facts About The Chameleon:

1. The best-known species has a naked body six or seven inches long, and feet and tail all suitable for grasping branches.
2. The skin is cold to the touch and contains small grains which in the shade are of a bluish-gray color, but which in the light of the sun become a grayish-brown or tawny color.
3. The chameleon possesses the curious power, however, of changing its color, either in accordance with its surroundings or with its temper, when disturbed.
4. Its power of fasting and habit of inflating itself gave rise to the fable that it lived on air, but in reality it feeds upon insects, taking its prey by rapid movements of a long, sticky tongue.
5. In general habit chameleons are dull and sluggish. They are often kept as pets.

More About Chameleons From The Web:

• Beautiful Footage: Chameleons Are Amazing by National Geographic and The Illegal and Secretive World of Chameleon Ranching

Watch a Chameleon Chang Its Colors by 

The Animal Box Office.

Whose Eyes Are These?

       Teachers or parents may print out the animal eye chart to quiz their kids about whose eyes are these. Here are the answers:

1. Eye of Solitary Frog
2. "stalk eye" of Crab
3. Eye of the Toad
4. Whirligig Beetle Eyes
5. The Chameleon's Eye
6. Eyes of the Snail on Stalks
7. Cat's Eye
8. Moth's Eye
9. Eye of A Dog
10. Spider Eyes
11. Eagle's Eye
12. Grasshopper's Eye
13. Sheep's Eye
14. Eye of the Fly
15. The Cow's Eye

Numbers 4, 8, 12, and 14 are all compound eyes!

Take the Nature Check Animal Eye Quiz!

and visit them to play more animal games.

Weasel

Cute But Deadly Weasel by Casey Anderson

Weasels that have white coats are called Ermine.

       The weasel is a small, carnivorous animal, a native of almost all the temperate and cold parts of the northern hemisphere. The body is extremely slender, the head small and flattened, the neck long and the legs short. It preys upon mice, birds and other small animals and is very destructive to poultry. The weasel is usually nocturnal in its habits. It is a fine hunter, having a very keen scent and sharp sight, and, being unwavering in pursuit of its victim, it often wears to exhaustion animals larger than itself. Several species are common in the United States, and others are found in. most parts of the temperate zones. The long-tailed, or New York, weasel is one of the most familiar species in North America. It is dark brown above and white beneath, and in winter in cold climates it turns pure white, except for the tip of the tail, which is black.

More About Weasels From The Web:

• This Minnesota Weasel is a Farmer's Favorite for Good Reason
• Stoat and weasel guide: how to identify, habitat, diet and best places to spot

Draw the cunning little weasel step-by-step.

Weaver Bird

      Weaver bird is a small bird resembling the finch, with pointed wings, a sharp, conical bill and unusually long claws. The name has reference to the bird's manner of building its nest, which is a wonderful structure of woven vegetable substances. The form and workmanship of the nests vary with the several species.

       The yellow weaver, or baya, of India, builds a long, bottle-like nest, and hangs it from a slender branch of tree or shrub, often over the water, where it is impossible for anything but a bird to enter. The sociable weaver birds build a large dome-shaped structure, or roof, in the forks of branches, and underneath this common roof many families build their nests, each with a separate entrance. While all members of the community work on the roof, each pair works alone on its own nest. 

More About Weaver Birds From The Web:

• Watch a Weaver Bird Build a Nest In A Single Day
• BBC Home Making: Weaver Bird

Kangaroo: 12 Incredible Facts

The kangaroo's tail helps to support the animal
as he or she sits and leaps.

       The kangaroo is one of the most strangely-formed animals in the world, found in a wild state only in Australia and nearby islands.

12 Incredible Kangaroo Facts:

1. The most noticeable feature about the kangaroo is the disproportion between the upper and lower parts of the body. The head is small and deer-like in shape, with large ears; the fore legs are small, and the hind legs are relatively large and powerful.
2. The tail is long and thick at the base and helps to support the animal when it sits erect, and to assist it in its long leaps.
3. When moving at an ordinary rate, the kangaroo jumps about its own length, but when frightened it can leap from three to four times that far.
4. Kangaroos are among the most ludicrous of all animals, and are objects of great interest in a "zoo."
5. The young are born very immature, being in most instances less than an inch long, and are protected and nourished for about eight months in a pouch on the mother's abdomen.
6. Kangaroos live entirely upon vegetable growths, and where still plentiful, they are a serious pest to farmers.
7. They are very timid, but are alert in time of danger.
8. The kangaroos include many species, varying in size from that of a hare to that of a large sheep, and remains of still larger extinct species have been found in Australia.
9. The larger and more common kinds belong to a genus including the giant kangaroo, the gray kangaroo and the brush kangaroo.
10. The kangaroos can kill a dog with a blow of the hind foot.
11. The animals were hunted for their hides, which make excellent leather, and also for their flesh.
12.  Smaller species include the tree kangaroos and the wallabies.

More About Kangaroos From The Web:

• Family Macropodidae, Genus Macropus from Bush Heritage Australia
• Kangaroo Life In The Wild
• Inside a Kangaroo Pouch by SmarterEveryDay
• Baby Kangaroo Rescue!

Superclass Tetradoda Class IV Mammalia.

Lion: 11 Facts

       A lion, a wild animal belonging to the cat family, celebrated for its strength and ferocity. The large head, flashing eye and heavy mane, characteristic of the male, give it a regal appearance that is reflected in the name king of beasts.

11 Facts About Lions:

1. The voice of the creature is a mighty roar, and is probably the loudest call among animals.
2. By nature the lion is less ferocious than the tiger, and is disinclined to attack man, but when angered or driven by hunger, it becomes fierce and terrible; when roused is a most dangerous adversary.
3. The lion is one of the largest members of the cat family, sometimes reaching a height of three feet and a weight of 500 pounds.
4. It is distinguished by its tawny or yellow color, tufted tail and, in the male, full flowing mane.
5. When the male is three years old its mane begins to grow; at six or seven years the lion is full grown, and at about twenty-two it is feeble and decrepit.
6. Lions make their lairs in hidden eaves, dense thickets, brushwood and other secluded places.
7. They hunt their prey at night, attacking antelopes, zebras and other wild animals, if these are available; in regions where wild game is scarce they seize camels, cattle, ponies, goats, etc.
8. The young are born in the spring, and the whelps, usually three in number, begin life with their eyes open.
9. They are given tender care by both parents until able to take care of themselves.
10. Lions are found at large only in Africa and parts of Central and Western Asia, but long years ago they were common in Europe and in many parts of Asia.
11. Today there are none in Asia Minor, Egypt or Arabia, and there are few left in India.

More About Lions From The Web:

• Best Lion Moments - BBC Earth
• Part of The Lion Pride - Dean Schneider living with lions
• The Man-eaters of Tsavo - Big Cats

Antique illustration of Senegal Lions guarding prey after a kill.

Grouse: 14 Facts About

Sometimes grouse are called partridges or pheasant.

       Grouse are a group of wild birds, related to the domestic fowls. 

14 Facts About Grouse:

1. Grouse usually live on the ground, and they always nest there. 
2. During a part of the year they live in families and confine themselves to forests and partially barren regions, where they feed on berries, buds, leaves and insects, which they often uncover by scratching. 
3. When hunted, it is their habit to lie hidden until their enemy is almost on them and then fly off rapidly with a great whirring of wings.
4. The male birds become fierce in the breeding season and, after dancing, drumming and performing various antics before the hens, they fight viciously, the victor mating with the whole flock of hens; as soon as the females begin to sit, the male leaves them alone to take the entire care of their offspring.
5. The eggs number from eight to fourteen.
6. The young are very sprightly and leave the nest almost as soon as they are hatched, and on the least alarm they hide themselves skillfully.
7. In the United States there are a number of different species, chief of which is the ruffed grouse, partridge, or pheasant, as it is called according to locality. 
8. This bird is of a brownish color, with a light-spotted breast, and trim, plump form. 
9. On the neck of the male are two large patches of black feathers, which open out, fanlike, at times.
10. The ruffed grouse are considered among the finest American game birds. 
11. Most of the states limit to a few months the period during which they may be hunted. 
12. The prairie chicken, another grouse, once was exceedingly common throughout the Central States, but it has been almost exterminated. 
13. The sound the prairie chicken makes is a loud, hollow booming that is almost as peculiar as the drumming of the ruffed grouse. 
14. There are a number of different species of the grouse in Europe, where they are favorites with sportsmen.

More About Grouse From The Web:

• Voices: Ruffed Grouse by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Sooty Grouse Calling by Jon Timmer
• Buster and Pheasant by Caroline Freegard

Lobster: 15 Fast Facts

Lobsters are greenish until cooked; then they turn red.

       The lobster is one of the most singularly-formed members of the animal kingdom, called a crustacean by the scientist because it is invested with an outer hard, shell-like surface, or crust. As a crustacean, the lobster is related to the shrimp, crab, barnacle, etc.

15 Fast Facts About Lobsters:

1. The body of the lobster has seven distinct segments, while thirteen minor ones, which form the thorax and head, are so blended together as not to be easily distinguished.
2. The animal has two pairs of antennae and six pairs of mouth organs.
3. The first pair of legs is long and terminates in large claws, one of which is thick and very heavy and is used for crushing objects.
4. The other claw is shorter, smaller, more or less curved, toothed and pointed at the tip.
5. The claws are really pinchers, which can be closed when fighting or when the animal seizes its prey.
6. The tail is composed of the last segment and has two wide appendages on each side, making a broad incurved organ, which the animal uses in swimming.
7. By straightening this tail and drawing it forcibly under, the lobster is thrown backward through the water at a rapid rate.
8. The animal has two large, compound eyes, situated at the end of thick stocks.
9. Its senses of hearing and sight are keen.
10. The female carries her eggs on the under side of the abdomen until they hatch, when the young are driven away and for a time swim about freely near the surface.
11. After about a month they descend to the bottom, where they remain. The lobster lives on the bottom of the sea and rarely rises more than a few feet from it.
12. It walks about on the tips of its legs, extending the large claws forward and pushing itself along by the swimming feet.
13. Lobsters are highly esteemed for food. They are caught in pots, which are traps made of wood, sunk among the rocks in the clear water in which the animals live. The pots have a funnel-shaped opening and are baited with fresh meat, which attracts the lobsters.
14. When they have once entered the trap they are unable to escape.
15. When taken from the water the lobster has a greenish appearance. The brilliant red color of those placed upon the market is produced by boiling.

More From The Web About Lobsters:

• Pinched by A Lobster!
• 6 incredible facts that will change the way you think about lobsters

Woodcock

       A woodcock is a bird belonging to the same family as the snipe, differing from the latter in having a more bulky body and shorter legs. It is widely distributed over North America, Europe, Northern Asia and Japan. It spends the summers in pine forests and the winters in southern swamps and moist woodlands, where worms, snails and slugs are plentiful. It is active by night and quiet during the day. If discovered near its nest it feigns injury, or it may carry its young away to safety, one at a time, between its thighs. The bird is about twelve inches long. The upper plumage is an intermingling of ruddy, yellowish, and ash, and is marked with black spots. Underneath, it is yellowish red with zigzag markings. The eyes are large and are set far back. The bill, nearly half the length of the body, is used with great skill in digging worms.

More From The Web About Woodcocks:

• Woodcock Facts from The Ruffed Grouse Society
• Taxonomy of The American Woodcock
• American woodcock (Scolopax minor) by New Hampshire Fish and Game

Lang Elliott filmed the American Woodcock

Locust: 12 Important Facts

Locust, the name applied rather loosely to several insects related to the grasshoppers. In the United States, the cicada, harvest fly, is called a locust, while the real locust of that country is known as the red-legged grasshopper.

12 More Facts About Locust:

1.  The hind legs of the locusts are large and powerful, so that they have great power of leaping, but their antennae are shorter than those of true grasshoppers.
2. They make their peculiar "notes" by drawing their hind legs across their wing covers.
3. When flying they produce sounds by rubbing their front and hind wings together.
4. The Rocky Mountain locust breeds west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, selecting places along river bottoms or in grassy places of the mountains in the northern part of the region mentioned.
5. The female lays twenty-five or more eggs, cementing them carefully together and covering them with a case, or cocoon, which she buries in the sand.
6. From the first, the young resemble their parent, and after frequent molting they reach their full size in about seven weeks.
7. On reaching maturity locusts gather in flocks and begin incredibly long migrations, with an apparent definiteness of purpose and regularity of movement that no other insect ever shows.
8. Sometimes they appear in such vast numbers as almost to obscure the light of the sun; toward night or on cloudy days they settle down on the earth and devour everything green they can find. Sometimes within a few hours whole acres of flourishing vegetation have been destroyed.
9. In 1874 the locusts overran the whole territory west of the Mississippi, and it is estimated that $50,000,000 would not cover the damage they did.
10. The next year 750,000 people were made destitute or suffered severely in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Since that time, though there have been numerous flights of locusts, they have not appeared in such destructive numbers, and it is thought that the cultivation of the land and the destruction of their breeding places have made impossible anything of the kind in the future.
11. Migratory locusts are found also in Asia and Africa, where their flights have been as destructive as those of the locusts in America.
12. Arabs and other people of the East frequently use the dried insects as food.

The Great North American Locust Plague by MinuteEarth

 

 

Arthropoda: spiders, insects, crabs etc...