• 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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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.

List of Animals English Globe