• Interesting Facts about Amphibians (3)
• Interesting Facts about Birds (22)
• Interesting Facts about Fishes (9)
• Interesting Facts about Mammals (48)
• Interesting Facts about Reptiles (16)

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Gulls

DESCRIPTION: In general, gulls are robust, longwinged birds that have bills that are stout and hooked and fully webbed feetexcept for the hind toes. Unlike terns, which are found in similar habitats,gulls have broader wings and squared-off or rounded tails. Many gull speciesexhibit different colorations due to seasonal changes or maturity level and itis often very difficult to identify a given gull's species. Bill and legcoloration are excellent distinguishing characteristics to use identifyinggulls FUN FACTS: Some gulls follow behind plows toconsume upturned grubs while others are known to drop hard-shelled mollusksonto rocks to break them open. Manyspecies of gulls are kleptoparasitic and steal prey from other birds of the sameor different species. Kelp gulls have been seen to mob penguins in order totake their food, and also harass and rob other birds of their catches.

Helmeted Guineafowl

DESCRIPTION: The head and neck of the helmetedguineafowl are bare, but there may be a wattle. The bill is short and stout;the body is stocky and black and dotted uniformly with white spots; and thewings are medium sized and rounded.MALE The wattle on the male is much larger than onthe female. SIZE: Approximately 42.5-47.5 cm long FUN FACTS: Thehelmeted guineafowl is capable of strong flight, but it is mainly terrestrialoften choosing to run rather than fly. It typically roosts in trees. Pairs remain monogamous. This diurnalbird calls with a rasping, stuttering, grating "keerrrr". Lives inflocks of up to hundreds of birds, and forages on open ground. Guineafowl are both monomorphic andmonochromatic - meaning both sexes look and act alike. Guineafowlare found in Greek mythology. Meleagros was the son of Oeneus, king of Calydon. According tolegend, upon his death, his sisters were transformed to guineafowl.

Hornbills

DESCRIPTION: Red-billed hornbills have a thin, redbill and pale head with dark gray, neck and white face. Their body is sootybrown with white stripe down center, white belly, black with white spottedprimaries, and black tail. Males and females are similar in appearance, butmales are slightly larger. SIZE:   50-60 cm total length WEIGHT: Less than .45 kg FUN FACTS: Red-billed hornbills nest in holes intrees where the female seals the entrance for two to three months while sheincubates the eggs and feeds the young with insects brought to her by the male. Hornbills are unique because theirfirst two neck vertebrae have been fused to support their large bill. They are territorial and will defendtheir space against their own species, but not other species, so severalspecies of hornbill may have overlapping territories at one time. Red-billed hornbills have aninteresting parental strategy. The female seals herself into a tree cavity,leaving only a small slit through which the male provides food. The femalemolts and re-grows her feathers during this time, then breaks out of the nestwhen the eldest chick is 21-22 days old. The chicks then reseal the entrancealone, using their droppings and food remains. Finally, the chicks fly from thenest, but remain with their parents for six months. When the chicks are about half grown,the female breaks out to assist the male in providing food. The chicks do notleave the nest cavity until they are able to fly. The red-billed hornbill has a closeassociation with people, often benefiting from the insects and small reptilesthat are drawn to people. Someof their ground-dwelling relatives in SouthAfrica and Southeast Asiacan grow to stand over 3 feettall.

Ibises

SIZE: White ibises are about 58-69 cm tall, with a wingspanof 97 cm.The giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantean) is 102-106 cm tall. FUN FACTS: Ibises have curved, slender bills thatthey use to probe into shallow water, mud or grass when foraging. Ibises are gregarious birds that live,travel and breed in flocks. In flight, they form diagonal lines orv-formations. This formation decreases wind resistance for trailing birds. Whenthe leader of the pack tires, it falls to the back of the formation and anotheribis takes its place at the front. These are rather quiet birds, onlygrunting or croaking on breeding grounds. Ibisesare an ancient species with fossil records going back 60 million years.

King Vulture

DESCRIPTION: The king vulture has white eyes (ringedwith red), broad wings, a short tail, black wings and tail (above), and anorange beak. The underside of the wings and chest are white. The head and neckare bare. SIZE: Approximately 67.5-80 cm; wingspan of 1.2-1.66 m WEIGHT: About 2.7-4.5 kg FUN FACTS: There are several theories as to whythe king vulture was given its name; one theory suggests it comes from a Mayanlegend (dating back to ~450 A.D.) that believed the vulture to be a messengerbetween humans and the gods and the vulture was personified as a lord or king. How king vultures find their food is atopic scientists do not agree on: some say they have excellent eyesight and cansee the meal, others say it is their sense of smell that locates the meat,still others say neither - the vultures merely follow other scavenging birds tothe food. The king vulture has one of the mostpowerful beaks of all American vultures and can open a carcass that othervultures cannot. For this reason, they often eat first and other vultures feedoff the remains. The head and neck of a king vulturelack feathers. This helps to prevent bacteria and remains of the carcass from"fowling" up the feathers on the head. After eating, the vulture willrelax in the sun and allow the heat to bake off the bacteria.

Macaws

DESCRIPTION: Macaws are typically large, brightlycolored parrots with long tail feathers. The characteristic that distinguishesmacaws from other members of the parrot family is their bare facial areas thatvary in size and pattern according to different species. SIZE:   Macaws range in size from the 30 cm. Hahn's macaw (Aranobilis nobilis) to the largest of all parrots, the hyacinth macaw(Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), which can reach a size of approximately 102 cm. WEIGHT: Hyacinth macaws weigh approximately1550-1600 g FUN FACTS: Macaws are a large group of birds inPsittacidae, the parrot family. More commonly seen large macaws include themilitary (Ara militaris), scarlet (A. macao),blue & gold (A. arauna), and green-winged macaw (A. chloroptera). Macaws are social birds and typicallyform strong, monogamous pair bonds. They usually nest in the hollows of treeshigh off the ground or in the sides of cliffs. Both parents defend their eggsand chicks aggressively. They are often seen flying in large flocks and thebonded pairs fly close together, their wings nearly touching. In the wild, macaws often flock tomountains of clay known as "macaw licks". When disturbed, these bright birdsscreech loudly and circle overhead with their long tails streaming. Macaws are playful and inquisitive andare able to mimic human vocalizations very well. Macaws are extremely messy eaters -their incredibly strong beaks are perfectly adapted for eating all sorts ofnuts and seeds, as seen in their ability to crack open incredibly hard-shellednuts with ease. Macawsare able to reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.

Magpie Goose, Pied Goose

DESCRIPTION: This is a large black and white goosewith a long neck. It has white on the back, shoulders, rump, breast and bellyand black on the head, neck, wings and tail. This species of goose has aprominent, rounded knob on its forehead and naked red skin on the face. Thebeak is small with a slight hook at the end. FUN FACTS: Magpie geese often breed in triosrather than pairs. Two females lay their eggs on a floating platform of reedsmade by a single male. After the eggs hatch, the three parents feed the chicksby bending tall grasses over with their feet so the goslings can eat the seeds. Unlike most waterfowl, magpie geese donot loose (molt) their flight feathers all at once therefore they are neverleft flightless. Some scientists believe that this makes the magpie goose moreclosely related to screamers than are other waterfowl. Theyare not closely related to true ducks, and are the only known waterfowl to feedtheir young.

Mynah

DESCRIPTION: The golden-crested mynah is a smallbird with a bright yellow crest that lays flat against its head. This speciesalso has a blackish back and wings and an orange beak. SIZE: Approximately 21.59 cm in length FUN FACTS: Mynahs are able to learn to mimic humanvoices or any sounds they choose. The word "mynah" derives fromthe Sanskrit madana meaning joyful or delightful, which is derived from theroot meaning "bubbles". So the derived word "mynah" means"bubbling with joy". Mynahstend to build their nests in holes, preferably tree cavities, but alsosometimes in cliff sides, walls or even sometimes in holes in rooftops.

Ostriches

DESCRIPTION: Largest living bird.Males are jet black with white plumage andbright red or blue skin.Females are fairly uniform in color,with earthy gray-brown plumage and skin color. SIZE: Approximate height 2.75 m WEIGHT: Up to 156.5 kg FUN FACTS: One ostrich egg equals up to 24 chickeneggs. And it takes approximately 2 hours to boil! Ostriches can run up to 70 km/hr (40 mph) and can outpace mostpursuers, such as lions, leopards, and hyenas. It is the largest and heaviest livingbird. It is unable to fly and does not possess a keeled sternum (breastbone)common to most birds. Ostriches stretch out their neck andlay their head on the ground to keep from being seen, hence the myth thatostriches hide in the sand. Ostriches are so powerful that a singlekick at a predator, such as a lion, could be fatal. Afemale ostrich shows a remarkable ability to recognize her own eggs even whenmixed in with those of other females in their communal nest.

Penguin

DESCRIPTION: Theupright body posture and mostly black-and-white coloration makes penguins easyto distinguish from other birds. As with other marine animals, penguins have afusiform (tapered) shape. The forelimbs are modified into flippers, the tail isshort and wedge-shaped and the hind limbs are set far back on the body, whichis supported on land by webbed feet. Species-specific markings on the head andfacial areas make it easy to tell the adults of most penguin species apart.Male and femalepenguins of most species are not sexually dimorphic. The exception is thecrested penguins in which males are more robust and have larger bills. SIZE: The emperorpenguin is the largest penguin, standing 112 cm tall. The smallest penguin is the fairypenguin, standing just 41 cm. WEIGHT: Of the 17 penguin species, emperor penguins weigh the mostat 27-41 kg.In contrast, the fairy penguin is the lightest, weighing roughly 1 kg. FUN FACTS: All penguinslive south of the equator, from the icy waters of Antarctica to the tropicalGalapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, almost astride the equator. Penguins arespecialized marine birds adapted to living at sea. Some species spend as muchas 75% of their lives in the sea - only coming ashore for breeding and molting.Penguin wings are paddle-like flippers used for swimming, not flying. Penguinshave denser feathers than most other types of birds having as many as 70feathers per square inch. These feathers are spaced very closely and tuftedwith down on the shafts to help keep the penguins warm. Adultpenguins are countershaded (dark dorsal, light ventral) which helps to concealswimming penguins from predators such as killer whales, sharks or leopardseals. When viewed from above, the dark dorsal side blends in with the darkerocean depths. When viewed from beneath, the light ventral side helps in withthe lighter surface of the sea. Antarcticspecies of penguins can move quickly on ice by tobogganing on their belliesusing their flippers and feet to help propel them along. Chinstrappenguins may be the most numerous penguin, with a population estimated at 12-13million. The most vulnerable penguin is the yellow-eyed penguin,which inhabits the coasts and offshore islands of southeast New Zealand. Theyellow-eyed penguin population is estimated at less than 7,000.

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