The Stenocara beetle harvests water from fog Imagine that you are in the desert. It hasn’t rained for hundreds of years and you are desperate for water. What do you do? The Stenocara beetle manages this situation all the time! The Namib desert in Africa is about the driest, hottest place on earth. So hot … [Read more…]
How much wood would a woodpecker peck…? Rat-a-tat-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat! Do I sound familiar? I’m Downy Woodpecker, and I’m here by the wondrous design of my great Creator. Rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Most birds are more often seen than heard. We woodpeckers are more often heard than seen. You hear rat-a-tat-tat, then you try to see us. There … [Read more…]
Did You Know…? …that the Phalarope is especially equipped to be able to drink sea water and not be harmed? …that the Phalarope doubles its weight in less than a month before migrating south? …that the Phalarope flies 2000 miles in 2 days non-stop? …that the Phalarope changes colors from season to season? …that Mrs. … [Read more…]
Did You Know…? …that there are more than 1900 species of fireflies? …that most fireflies turn on their light only about once a second; but some fireflies produce two flashes a scant l/30th of a second apart, which the human eye detects as only one flash. Other species flash only once in several seconds? …that … [Read more…]
Do you know the art of successful hibernation? We Arctic ground squirrels do. We are amazing hibernators. This doesn’t mean that we do nothing but sleep, but we have a special ability that I want to tell you about. Our Designer has given us the amazing ability to cool our bodies below freezing temperatures and … [Read more…]
Did You Know…? …that spiders are not insects—insects have six legs, and a three-part body; spiders have eight legs, and a two-part body. …that a single spider may kill as many as 2000 insects in its short lifetime. Without spiders, we would be overrun with insects. …that spiders range in body length from 3 1/2 … [Read more…]
Curious Facts Ancient people captured cheetahs and used them to hunt wild game. An emperor in India was said to have kept 1000 cheetahs. After the cheetah makes a sprint and kills its prey, it needs half an hour to catch its breath before it can eat! And she is so tired that she won’t … [Read more…]
Did You Know…? … that only 29% of the earth’s surface is dry land; more than 70% is covered by water. In our northern hemisphere, the ratio of water to land is about 3:2, but the southern hemisphere is especially watery with a ratio of approximately 4:1. … that for every square mile of dry … [Read more…]
You have e-mail, and snail-mail, and sneaker-mail. Well, long before any of these, there was pigeon-mail! You see us all over, especially in cities. We love to nest high up on buildings or around chimneys—it reminds us of the cliffs to which we are native. We’re pigeons. You may also know us by the name … [Read more…]
Did You Know…? …that there are more than 100 different species of owls in the world — they are native on every continent except Antarctica. …that owls have the best night vision of any creature known. … that owls are very useful in keeping small rodents in check — without them we would be overrun … [Read more…]