Why do owls come out at night?

Owl

Owls are creatures that few people ever see.  This is because most owls, like many animals, are nocturnal in their habits—they are most active at night.  Most owls hunt at night because they feed on mice and other small creatures that are also nocturnal.  The owl is well equipped for night hunting. 

It has large eyes and can see well in the dark. Its ears are so sensitive that it can hear a mouse scamper over the ground many yards away.  And its feathers are so soft that there is hardly a sounds as it swoops down to capture its prey in its talons.– Dick Rogers

Is the wise old owl really wise?

Although its big, staring eyes make the own look like it is thinking very hard, it is really no smarter than other birds.

Owls look wise because their big, staring eyes and thoughtful air give the appearance that they are thinking very hard.

Actually, the “wise old owl” is really no smarter that other birds. In fact, geese, crows, and ravens are all smarter than the owl.  A person can recognized an owl at once by its large, broad face with a fur of feathers around the large eyes.

Unlike the eyes of most birds, the owl’s eyes are in front of its head and point forward. But to see in another direction, the own must turn its whole head.

Persons walking around a perched owl are often amused at the way it seems in danger of twisting its head off while watching them.

The owl comes out at night to hunt for mice and other small creatures.  Its large eyes can see in the dimmest light.

But the owl does not depend on its eyes alone for hunting.  Its keen ears can hear the faintest sound and its cry startles small animals into revealing their location. The owl’s soft feathers allow it to swoop down silently on its prey.-Dick Rogers

What Is A Scorpion?

Scorpion

A scorpion is a small animal with a long and narrow tail that has a poisonous sting at the tip of it.

Scorpions are not insects.  They are related to spiders.  They live mostly in the warm, dry parts of the world and range in size from yellowish-colored half-inch creatures to shiny black scorpions seven inches long.

The scorpion is armed with powerful pincers, like the claws of a crab.  When the scorpion walks, it carries its tail arched over its back so that the sharp sting is in position to strike.

When the scorpion is ready to kill, it seizes its prey in its pincers and plunges its stinger into the creature it is holding.  The poison will kill the spiders and other small creatures on which the scorpion feeds.

Only the sting of certain kinds of scorpions, is dangerous to man. Oddly enough, the scorpion is unharmed by its own poison but two scorpions are likely to sting each other to death. - Dick Rogers

What Does The Sawfish Use Its Saw For?

Sawfish

The sawfish uses its saw like snout mainly to attack other fish to catch its food.  A sawfish looks like a big shark with a long, flat, saw like snout.

The “saw” of an adult sawfish is often 5 feet long, and is armed with sharp feet.  The sawfish uses its saw like snout mainly to catch it’s prey.

To get food, it attacks whole schools of fish, slashing left and right with its fearful weapon as it goes.  It then feasts upon the victims at its leisure.  The sawfish also uses its toothy snout to defend itself against strong enemies. 

And the saw can also be used as a shovel for digging up shellfish and other food in the muddy sea bottom.  Because of its wicked snout, the sawfish is one of the most dangerous of all sea fish.  Even very young sawfish are dangerous.

Another interesting fish, also named after its long beak, is the swordfish.  The swordfish used its sword in much the same manner as the sawfish uses it saw.–Dick Rogers

What are puffins?

Puffin

Puffins are comical-looking sea birds of the North Atlantic Ocean.  Puffins are sometimes called sea parrots, these plump, short-winged sea birds are one of the world’s oddest-looking birds.

A white face with blue lines around the eyes and a comical waddle make the common puffin look like a circus clown.  

Its enormous beak, colored with red, blue, and yellow bands, is nearly as large as its head.  The gaudy colors of the male puffin’s beak are just for show.  

They are really colored growths that drop off after the nesting season.  Despite its comical appearance, the puffin is an expert flier and swimmer.  Puffins can actually swim underwater in pursuit of their prey.  

A puffin can catch several fish, one after another, and carry them dangling crosswise in its beak to its nestling.  Puffins nest in large colonies on rocky coasts.  One white egg island in a burrow or crevice in the rocks at nestling time.-Dick Rogers

Why is the lion called the king of beasts?

King of the Beast

Its terrifying roar and kingly appearance have helped earn the lion its nickname “King of Beast.”  Probably this is not because the lion could defeat all other animals in combat, nor because it is the biggest animal.

But throughout history, the lion has been thought of as the symbol of strength because it ranks among the fiercest and strongest of all wild creatures.

Its ferocity and the roar of its voice strikes terror in the hearts of both men and animal alike.  The long mane of the male gives the lion a proud and kingly appearance.  Lions live on the plains of Africa.  Newborn lion cubs are about the size of a large house cat.

When fully grown, the male lion may measure more than 9 feel long from his nose to the tip of his tail.  And weight more than 400 pounds.  One would expect lions to be fearless in hunting, yet they sometimes wait in ambush for prey to come close, the attack with a sudden pounces.

In circuses, these lordly animal attract much attention.  Sometimes a lion trainer will even put his head in a lion’s mouth.–Dick Rogers