| Birds: Crows Can live to 80 yrs. Humming birds Wings rotate at shoulder; adjusting tilt, can hover, move in any direction ioncluding backwards. Elephant bird Extinct elephant bird 1 of largest birds ever, only on Madagascar, more than 10k yrs ago. 1k+ lbs, 10' tall; had wings, couldn't fly. Eggs 13 x 9.5". Migrat'n, birds/mammals Sunlight/darkness ratio signal birds to migrate; air pressure, cold fronts push them. Longest mammal migrat'n: gray whale, 6k mi. Alaska to Baja, CA, 7 wks. Longest land mammal migrat'n: Arctic caribou, 1500+ mi., follow ancestoral trails. Geese--group names Group of geese on ground is gaggle; if flying, skein. Ostriches Eye bigger than its brain. Baby pigeons Nests hidden. City-dwellers now, but cliff-dwellers way back. Still like nests high on modern cliffs: tall building window ledges, inside bridge. 2 eggs at a time; babies nearly adult-sized/plump when leave nest. Fish: Fish in Death Valley 1000s yrs ago, ice lake covered Death Valley; now underground reservoirs, feed springs/pools. Ice Age survivor, pupfish, adapted to 100 degrees water. Fish school Able to change direct'n quickly; nearly uniform distances from each other by adjusting to vortices (whirlpools) other fish leave in their wake; sense currents, make rapid direct'n changes. Shark teeth Sharks have as many as 3k teeth arranged in rows, as many as 5 rows. Most don't chew much--prefer swallowing large chunks. When tooth is damaged/lost, replaced. Goldfish Can grow to over a foot long; size of their home has a lot to do with eventual size (need space to move/grow.) Average lifespan: 10 yrs: oldest known :43. Goldfish cousin Koi: over 100 yrs; some report over 200 yrs, passed from generation to generation. "Age" a fish: scale growth "rings" & ringlike structures of inner ear bones (correspond to seasonal enironment changes.) Fish--Christian symbol Greek "ichthys" (fish) for "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" (Iesous CHristos, THeou HYios, Soter.) Jesus associated with fishermen; apostles known as "fishers of men." When persecuted, Christians used fish sign to secretly identify themselves to one another without alerting hostile authorities. |
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| Webmaster: John Gelhaus Click here: [email protected] |
| This page revised 9-26-02 |
| Facts: animals--birds, fish |