First Animal Encyclopedia

REVISED EDITION Editor Ishani Nandi Art editor Shipra Jain Senior editor Shatarupa Chaudhuri DTP designer Bimlesh Tiwary Managing editors Laura Gilbert, Alka Thakur Hazarika Managing art editors Diane Peyton Jones, Romi Chakraborty CTS manager Balwant Singh Publisher Sarah Larter Senior producer, pre-production Ben Marcus Producer Nicole Landau Jacket editor Laura Gilbert Jacket designer Diane Peyton Jones Publishing director Sophie Mitchell Art director Stuart Jackman Consultant John Woodward ORIGINAL EDITION Author Penelope Arlon Senior Art Editor Tory Gordon-Harris Consultant Kim Dennis-Bryan PhD. FZS Design Assistance Amy McSimpson Publishing Manager Sue Leonard Managing Art Editor Clare Shedden Jacket Designer Poppy Jenkins Picture Researcher Sarah Pownall Production Controller Shivani Pandey DTP Designer Almudena Díaz First published in Great Britain in 2004 This edition first published in Great Britain in 2015 by Dorling Kindersley Limited 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL Copyright © 2004, © 2015 Dorling Kindersley Limited, London A Penguin Random House Company 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 001–274454–Sept/2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-24118-872-9 Printed and bound in Hong Kong A WORLD OF IDEAS: SEE ALL THERE IS TO KNOW

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Contents Introduction 4-5

The animal kingdom

Mammals 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-27 28-29 30-31 32-33 34-35 36-37 38-39 40-41 42-43 44-45 46-47

Mammals The world of mammals Lemurs and monkeys The apes The cat family Big cats The dog family Bears Small and cunning The burrowers Insect-eating mammals Rodents Flying mammals Marsupials The mighty elephant Hoofed mammals The cattle family The horse family Hoofed giants Water mammals Ocean giants

Birds 48-49 50-51 52-53 54-55 56-57 58-59 60-61 62-63 64-65 66-67 68-69 70-71

Birds The world of birds Courtship Nesting Hatching out Songbirds Life in the air Freshwater birds Sea birds In the chill Birds of prey Night flyers

This book will ask you questions at the bottom of each page...

134-135 136-137 138-139 140-141

Sea crustaceans Sea molluscs Brainless wonders The world of microlife

Fish Exotic flyers Game birds Globetrotters Flightless birds

80-81 82-83 84-85 86-87 88-89 90-91 92-93 94-95 96-97 98-99 100-101 102-103

Reptiles and amphibians The world of reptiles Under a shell Introducing lizards Hunting and defence Slithering snakes Attack and defence Crocodiles and alligators The world of amphibians Frogs and toads Hunting and hiding Salamanders and newts

Creepy-crawlies Creepy-crawlies The world of insects Egg to adult On the move Eating habits Defence Pests and plagues Butterflies and moths Beetles and bugs Bees and wasps Ants and termites Flies Other creepy-crawlies Spiders and scorpions Strange land creatures

154-155 156-157 158-159 160-161 162-163 164-165 166-167 168

Amazing animal facts True or false? Quiz Who am I? Where in the world? Glossary Index Picture credits and acknowledgements

About this book The pages of this book have special features that will show you how to get your hands on as much information as possible! Look out for these: Fish

Fish

Fish

Picture detective Take a look through the fish section and see if you can spot the owners of these colourful skins.

Zebrafish

Fish truly dominate the waters of the world. They come in many shapes and sizes, from huge whale sharks to strange seahorses and fish so tiny you can barely see them.

Copperband butterfly fish

Yellow wrasse

Yellow tang

Long-nosed gar Royal gramma

John Dory

Ram cichlid

Goldfish Seahorse

Emperor angelfish

Thornback ray

Sticklebacks

Bony fish

Three-striped dwarf cichlids

Most fish are bony, which means they have a hard skeleton inside them. Sharks are not bony fish, but have a skeleton made of cartilage – a material that is softer than bone.

Clown triggerfish

Turn and learn Seahorse: p. 151 Sharks: pp. 152-153

Boxfish

142

How many different species of fish can be found on Earth?

Creepy-crawlies

143

Beetles and bugs

Beetles and bugs These amazing creatures can be found all over the world, from mountain tops to scorching deserts.

Beetles

Glow in the dark

Beetles are the most heavily armoured of all  insects. They have biting and chewing mouthparts.

Glowworms are not worms, they are beetles. They have a special organ in their bodies that lights up in the dark. They flash their bodies at night to communicate with each other.

Glowworms can sometimes be seen at night glowing and flashing in their thousands.

The diving beetle uses its legs as paddles.

These buttons give extra weird and wonderful animal facts.

Diving beetles Most beetles live on land, but the diving beetle catches its food – tadpoles and even small fish – in the water. In order to breathe it tucks a bubble of air under its wings before every dive.

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Members of the bug family look quite like beetles, but they have a feeding tube that pierces and sucks up their food. They cannot bite and chew.

Clicking cicadas

Bugs Beetles Beetles are often bright and colourful.

They are small, but some can be quite aggressive!

Scarab: this beautiful golden scarab is found in South America.

Shield bug: it is known as the “stink bug” because it can let out a foul smell.

Chafer beetle: these lovely beetles vary hugely in size and colour.

Coreid bug: this bug waves the flaps on its legs to scare predators.

Weevil: this bright blue weevil is found in Papua New Guinea. Frog beetle: frog beetles have colourful bodies with a metallic, shiny look.

How do most bugs taste their food?

Aphid: this little creature is a pest. It attacks garden plants. Assassin bug: it kills other insects and sucks their insides out.

Cicadas, a type of bug, are the noisiest of insects. They can be heard upto 1.5 km (1 mile) away. They make their noise by vibrating drum-like pads on the side of their tummies.

ird or what we

The deathwatch beetle eats through wood. When it wants to attract another beetle’s attention, it bangs its head against the wood. Sometimes people hear the tapping in their houses.

Every page is colour-coded to show you which section it is in.

ird or what? we

Glowworms are found all over the world.

Bugs

The African Goliath beetle is the biggest beetle in the world.

The Picture Detective quiz will get you searching through each section for the answers. Turn and learn buttons tell you which pages to turn to in order to find more information on each subject.

Cuban hogfish Zebra pipefish

Golden-eyed dwarf cichlids

?

... check here for the answers.

104-105 106-107 108-109 110-111 112-113 114-115 116-117 118-119 120-121 122-123 124-125 126-127 128-129 130-131 132-133

Reference section

Most bugs taste their food through their feet.

Reptiles and amphibians

Fish The world of fish Finding food Staying alive Making more fish Sharks and rays

There are about 32,800 species of fish in seas, rivers, and lakes.

72-73 74-75 76-77 78-79

142-143 144-145 146-147 148-149 150-151 152-153

Some cicada species can live for upto 17 years!

121

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The animal kingdom

The animal kingdom The animal kingdom is divided into vertebrates and invertebrates. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are vertebrates. Insects are a type of invertebrate. ltho ugh all of them have wings.

Animals All animals, including people, have one thing in common – they eat other living things, either plants, or animals, or both. Almost all, except a few sea creatures, can move around.

fly ,a

The beetle has muscles attached to its skeleton just like you do. Its skeleton is on the outside, however, while yours is on the inside.

Beetle skeleton

an c Not all birds What is an invertebrate?

What is a vertebrate?

The word invertebrate simply means not having a backbone. The “creepy-crawly” section of this book deals with the animals called invertebrates. Some of them have skeletons on the outside of their bodies, while some don’t have any bones at all.

Most of the large skeleton animals in the world are vertebrates. This means that they have a backbone, and most are made up of bones put together to make a skeleton. Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish are all vertebrates.

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Do all animals have brains?

Bird

The animal kingdom Some people think that there are millions of creepy-crawlies we do not even know about yet.

Creepy-crawlies Creepy-crawlies, or invertebrates, make up over 95 per cent of all animals. But most of them are so small you don’t notice them.

Stag beetle

Ants are insects, a kind of invertebrate.

bra e t r e v st Mo Vertebrates All vertebrates came from the same ancestor millions of years ago, but have changed, or evolved, into these four main groups. Mammals: most live on land and none can breathe underwater.

can s e t

move arou nd.

The lion is one of the most ferocious meat-eaters of the mammal group.

Birds: all birds have wings and most of them can fly. Fish: all fish live in the sea or in fresh water. Reptiles and amphibians: these animals live on land or in water. Lions keep their sharp claws inside their toes to protect them, until they need to attack.

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No, a few invertebrates have no brains.

Mammals

Mammals

Rodriguez flying fox

You may wonder if animals such as dogs, bats, elephants, and mice have anything in common. They do – they are all mammals and have more in common than you may think.

Mongolian gerbil

European rabbit

Orang-utan

Siamese cat

Boxer dog Eastern chipmunk

Red fox

Sea lion Maned wolf

Field mice

Which mammal lives the longest?

Mammals

Picture detective Take a look through the Mammals section and see if you can spot who these hairy skins belong to.

Long-eared bats

Two-toed sloth

Pipistrelle bat

Junior mammals Mammal babies look like little versions of their parents. They are all looked after by their mothers or both parents until they can feed and look after themselves.

Baby red-necked wallaby

Baby tiger

Turn and learn The cat family: pp. 14-17 Bats: pp. 30-31

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The Arctic bowhead whale can live to well over 100 years old.

Mammals

The world of mammals Mammals include animals such as the whale, the kangaroo, and you and me! We all have fur, we are warm-blooded, and we feed new babies our milk. Mammal babies Most mammal females give birth to live babies, rather than laying eggs. The baby grows inside the mother’s body until it is born.

Gorilla skeleton

The skeleton Mammals may look very different, but stripped back to the bone, we all have the basic bony skeleton. Scientists call us vertebrates – animals with a backbone.

Feeding babies All female mammals produce milk from their bodies that they feed to their babies; this feeding is called suckling. The milk helps babies to grow.

Turn and learn Bears: pp. 20-21 Elephants: pp. 34-35

Baby gorilla

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Gorillas are members of the primate family. Within the mammal group, there are many different families.

How many mammal families are there?

The world of mammals Polar bears can live in chilly Arctic regions because they are warm-blooded and have thick fur.

Hairy beasts All mammals have hairy bodies, though some are much hairier than others. This hair, or fur, keeps them warm. Elephant trunk

Warm blood Mammals are warm-blooded, which means they can warm up and cool down their bodies to keep their temperature level. An elephant in the hot jungle has the same temperature as a polar bear in the snow.

Polar bears have thick fur all over their bodies.

This elephant may not look hairy but it does have hair on its body.

Getting around Mammals have developed different ways of moving about. Cats: some mammals, such as the cat, have long legs to run with. Bats: these are the only mammals that can fly – they have wings. Dolphins: sea mammals have flippers and strong tails to swim with. Moles: a mole has feet like spades, which are useful for burrowing.

Polar bear

The odd one out It is usually true that animals give birth to live babies, but there are a few species, including this duck-billed platypus, that lay eggs. Platypus eggs are soft and the size of marbles.

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There are 153 different mammal families in the world.

Mammals

Lemurs and monkeys

Monkey business Most people think monkeys all look similar, but some are quite different.

Monkeys and lemurs, along with the apes, make up the mammal group known as primates.

White-faced saki: the male is black and the female brown. Tamarin: the golden lion tamarin has gold fur and a long mane.

Howler monkey

Woolly monkey: it lives in South America and has thick fur.

Record-breaker Talking to each other is important to primates, which live together in large groups. The howler monkey, the loudest land animal on Earth, screams to neighbouring groups, and can be heard several miles away.

Proboscis monkey: this male monkey has a very long, prominent nose.

Monkeys Monkeys have grasping hands so they can climb trees. Many have recognizable features, such as this tamarin’s white moustache.

Ring-tailed lemur

The emperor tamarin has a long, white moustache.

Lemurs Lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. They have thin bodies and often move by jumping along on their back legs. Sitting upright with its hands on its knees, this ring-tailed lemur is sunbathing.

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r ird o what? e w

Japanese macaques, a type of monkey, live in the mountains of northern Japan. To keep warm in the winter, they take baths in the hot volcanic springs.

Which are longer, a monkey’s arms or legs?

Lemurs and monkeys

Spid

er monkeys have no thumbs.

Treetops All monkeys are excellent climbers – some have long tails that they use as another limb. The spider monkey’s tail is bald at the end for extra grip.

Woolly spider monkey

Mandrill

Ground monkey The mandrill is one of the  few monkeys that climbs trees only to sleep at night. During the day, it walks around on all fours. When a male feels threatened, it yawns widely revealing its fearsome teeth.

Monkeys have hands like ours that can grasp branches.

Bushbaby

Bushbaby The bushbaby is a small primate that sleeps during the day and ventures out to hunt at night. It has huge eyes that help it to see in the dark.

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A monkey’s arms are longer than its legs.

Mammals

The apes Many people confuse monkeys and apes. Apes are large, intelligent creatures that have no visible tails and can stand more upright than monkeys. You and I are members of the ape family. The mighty gorilla Family life Gorillas live in groups of up to 40 animals, which consist of one male and many females and babies. The males are twice the size of the females and as they mature, they grow a strip of silvery fur across their backs.

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Gorillas are the largest and most powerful of the apes, but they are rarely aggressive. They live in forests in central Africa.

Gorilla

What is the dominant male gorilla in its group called?

The apes

King of the swingers Gibbons are the most agile of all the apes. Their wrists and shoulders are very flexible, which means they are able to swing from branch to branch quickly. They live in pairs.

Treetop apes These orange orang-utans live in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra up in the trees. They rarely go down to the jungle floor, preferring to eat and sleep in the treetops.

The clever chimp Chimpanzees are very intelligent indeed. They communicate with facial expressions and are one of the only animals to use tools.

This chimp is breaking nut shells using a piece of stone as a tool.

Grooming strengthens friendships within the group.

Grooming Chimps live in communities of up to 120 apes. Grooming is very important in ape societies. They can often be seen picking dirt and ticks out of each other’s fur.

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The dominant male is known as a “silverback”.

Mammals

The cat family

Lynx

All cats around the world spend their time doing the same sorts of activities: hunting, eating, and sleeping. This lynx is about twice the size of a pet cat.

Living alone Cats like to live on their own; only a few live in groups. Usually, the cats that live together are mothers and their babies.

Cat carnivores Cats only eat meat, and those living in the wild have to catch it. Some are fussier than others. Caracal: these cats can leap high into the air to catch birds. Bobcat: this cat lives in the woodlands of North America and eats rabbits. Jaguarundi: this small, stocky cat eats anything it can catch. Fishing cat: this cat catches fish by grabbing them with its claws. Pumas are the long jumpers of the cat world. They can make massive leaps of 12 m (40 ft).

Climbers Some cats live in forests, and many can climb trees. They have very good balance and sharp claws that hook onto branches.

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Puma

Why do cats lick their fur?

The cat family

The loudest roar Most big cats roar; when this lion gets angry, his roar can be heard 8 km (5 miles) away! All other cats miaow, purr, and growl.

A fine coat

Lion

A cat’s fur keeps it warm and camouflaged. Cats spend a lot of time licking their fur with their rough tongues to clean it. There are more than 300 million pet cats in the world. They are closely related to wild cats.

Cat features

Domestic cat

Stalk and pounce

All cats look similar, but their coats, shapes, and sizes are suited to where they live. This serval has a long neck and big ears to enable it to see and hear well in long grass.

Unlike dogs, cats cannot run fast for long distances, so most rely on their ability to stalk and pounce. When stalking, they keep their bodies low, move slowly, and then pounce. Ocelot

Serval

Turn and learn Dogs that live in the wild: pp. 18-19

The ocelot is now a protected species as many were killed for their fur.

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Cats lick their fur to clean themselves and to keep cool.

Mammals

Big cats

Black leopard

The five largest, most ferocious meateaters of the cat family are known as the “big cats”. They are the lion, tiger, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard.

Leopards come in different colours, but most are yellow with black spots. Black panthers were once thought to be a different type of cat, but are actually black leopards.

King of the cats Lions, found on the grassy plains of Africa, are the only cats that live in groups, or prides.

All mother cats carry their cubs in their mouths.

Sleepyheads

Pride of lions

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Cats are among the sleepiest animals in the world: they spend more than 19 hours a day asleep. Prides of lions can often be seen napping under trees. They are perfectly safe to sleep in the open as they are in little danger of being killed by another animal.

Why do cats have whiskers?

Big cats

Water cat The jaguar has large spots and loves swimming, which is quite unusual among cats. During the day it catches fish by flipping them out of the water with its paws. At night it hunts for animals in the jungle. Tiger

Spotted leopard Leopards love to climb trees. High up in the branches is a good spot to watch what is going on below. Often they will even drag their kill up trees to prevent it being stolen.

Leopard

The giant tiger Tigers are the largest and most powerful of all the cats – they are 10 times stronger than a man! They live all over Asia, from the rainforest to the woodlands of Siberia. Female lions do not have manes like the males.

Turn and learn The fastest land mammal on Earth – the cheetah: pp. 154-155

Tigers hunt mainly in the dark.

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Their whiskers help them to feel their way in the dark.

Mammals

The dog family When you think of dogs, you probably think of pets, but many members of the dog family live in the wild.

Training the wolf For thousands of years, people have trained dogs to do certain jobs.

Wolves Wolves live in packs of about 20, which are led by a male and female. They are meat-eaters and all work together to hunt and kill. They can grow up to 1 m (3 ft) tall and have very sharp teeth, which are useful for tearing up meat.

European grey wolf

Wolves sometimes spray their urine to mark out their territory.

Wolf language Facial expressions and body language are used by wolves within a pack to communicate with each other. When they want to keep other wolf packs away, they howl rather than bark.

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What is the tail of a fox called?

Guide dogs: many dogs are used to guide blind people. Sheep dogs: people have been using dogs to round up sheep for centuries. Police dogs: these guard dogs use their noses to sniff out criminals.

At night, whole packs howl together to warn other wolves that they are there.

The dog family

Urban foxes A fox is a small dog. It tends to hunt at night and lives alone or in small family groups. The red fox has become a common sight in towns and cities, where it raids dustbins for food. African hunting dog

Red fox

d or what r i ? we

Dogs have been man’s best friend for over 12,000 years! All pet dogs are descendants of the grey wolf and still share many characteristics, such as a very good sense of smell and hearing.

When the dogs have killed, the whole pack shares the food.

These dogs are often known as “painted wolves” because of their beautiful colouring.

Wild dogs

Raccoon dog This hairy dog is called the raccoon dog, although it is not related to the raccoon. It is one of the only dogs that climbs trees.

African hunting dogs live in packs of up to 30. They have long legs and a lean body. They hunt together as a pack and can kill prey larger than themselves. They hunt at least once a day.

Grey wolves live all over the world, including in North America, northern Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

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A fox’s tail is called a brush.

Mammals

Bears Members of the bear family are big, furry mammals with large heads, thick legs, and short tails. They have five claws on each foot.

Bears of the world There are only eight types of bear in the world, including the polar bear and the brown bear. Brown bear: this big bear lives in Europe, Asia, and North America. Polar bear: the biggest and most deadly bear. It lives in the Arctic.

Bear necessities Bears have a good sense of smell, but weak eyesight and hearing. This is reflected in their large nose and very small ears and eyes.

Spectacled bear: it got this name because it looks as if it is wearing glasses.

Brown bear

A long doze Many bears are dormant in the winter, which means they doze or sleep nonstop during this time. They eat and eat during the summer and autumn months, building up fat they can use in the winter. The brown bear can stand up to 3.5 m (11 ft) – that’s twice the height of an adult human!

Which bear makes nests in trees?

Bears American black bear: this bear sleeps up to six months during winter. Sloth bear: its claws grow up to 8 cm (3 in) long, and help it tear open ant nests. Giant panda: this black-and-white bear mostly lives by itself. Sun bear: it uses its 25-cm- (10-in-) long tongue to suck honey out of trees. Asiatic black bear: this very rare bear is a protected species.

Climbing bears Bears normally walk slowly, but if they feel the need they can gallop at very high speeds. It may seem unlikely because of their size, but most bears are also able to climb trees. This giant panda is climbing a tree to find a safe place to rest. The giant panda eats mostly bamboo shoots. It will sometimes eat small animal grubs if it can find them.

Water bears Polar bears live in the Arctic. They have thick fur to keep them warm in the chilly weather. They are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for up to two minutes underwater.

Mother love The mother bear looks after her cubs fiercely during their first year, teaching them how to survive. She sometimes stands on her back legs to increase her height and frighten enemies away.

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The sun bear.

Mammals

Small and cunning There are many small, meat-eating mammals that hunt or scavenge for their food. Many are known for their clever hunting methods. The weasel family Members of the weasel family have long bodies and short legs. They have a fierce reputation for hunting – they are able to kill animals larger than themselves.

The American mink has a dark brown coat all year round.

Stoat

Stoats Stoats and minks are small animals related to weasels. In summer, stoats are brown with a white tummy, and in winter, some turn white so that they are camouflaged in the snow.

Weasels hunt by themselves, killing animals by biting their necks.

Weasel

Turn and learn The badger, a relative of the weasel: p. 25

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Why are many of the weasel family becoming rare?

Small and cunning Raccoons are often seen in towns rifling through dustbins. They have even been known to open door latches.

Raccoons Raccoons are small animals with fox-like faces and bandit-style masks. They are inquisitive creatures who make clever hunters.

Mongoose family Mongooses are so cunning that they can kill some of the world’s most venomous animals, such as snakes.

Smelly skunks Skunks are found in the Americas and feed on small animals and fruit. When threatened, they lift their tails and let out a foul stink, which you can smell from a kilometre (half a mile) away!

Meerkats This mongoose has clamped its teeth around a snake’s neck to kill it.

Meerkats Meerkats are a type Weasel relatives of mongoose that These mammals belong live in groups. They to the weasel family. hunt during the Wolverine: this animal has a larger, stockier body than a weasel. Polecat: polecats are sometimes kept as pets. They are called ferrets.

day, while a sentry scans the area from the highest point, sitting upright, looking out for enemies.

American mink: it hunts on land and in water.

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Because many are killed for their fur.

Mammals

The burrowers Many mammals are diggers, building their homes beneath the ground. Some use their burrows only to sleep in, while others live underground. Rabbits Most rabbits dig burrows, called warrens, underground to protect themselves from enemies, to shelter from cold, and to provide a safe place for their Rabbit babies. European rabbits live warrens are in large groups. often a maze of tunnels.

Boxing hares Hares are relatives of rabbits that have longer ears. They can sometimes be seen boxing during the spring breeding season. They stand on their back legs, hitting out with the front ones.

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Hares do not actually live underground, they live in hollows they make with their bodies in the earth.

What are rabbit babies called?

The burrowers

The aardvark This animal has a body like a pig, ears like a rabbit, and it licks up ants like an anteater, but it is not related to any of these animals! It is a very good burrower, digging long tunnels with its claws.

Armadillo

Badgers have quite large, stocky bodies, and small heads with long noses to root out food.

Armadillos look as if they could take on an army with their bony armoured backs. They dig burrows to find food and make dens. Most rest in their burrows during the day and hunt by night.

Badgers Badgers have short legs that are good for scurrying down tunnels. Their burrows, known as setts, are passed down through generations of badgers. They tend to hunt at night.

Badgers have poor eyesight but a good sense of smell.

Moles You will know when European moles are about because they leave molehills behind on the ground. Moles spend most of their lives underground eating worms and insects.

European mole

Rabbit babies are called kittens.

The star-nosed mole uses its paws as paddles to “swim” through the earth.

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Mammals

Insect-eating mammals Many mammals spend their lives eating insects and other small creepy-crawlies. Most of them only hunt at night. Giant anteater The giant anteater is a large mammal that likes to eat ants and termites. It has a large nose and a tongue that is as long as your arm, perfect for sticking into termite mounds.

Scaly anteater

Sometimes called a scaly anteater, this pangolin is not actually related to anteaters. It uses its long claws to dig into anthills and termite mounds.

Pangolins shut their nostrils while eating ants to stop them from rushing up their noses.

Silky anteater The silky anteater has a shorter nose and paler fur than its cousins. It spends much of its time digging out tree ants and licking them up.

The giant anteater can eat more than 30,000 ants in one day!

Turn and learn Ants and termites: pp. 124-125 Earthworms: p. 33

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How big is the smallest shrew?

Insect-eating mammals The head and paws appear as the hedgehog sniffs its surroundings and looks out for danger.

Small and prickly Hedgehogs use their long noses to snuffle in the earth for insects and worms. They are covered in sharp spines that are made of a kind of hair. If this creature feels threatened, it rolls its body into a prickly ball. Not many animals would attempt to eat a spiny hedgehog!

When curled up, the hedgehog looks like a spiny ball. The hedgehog flips itself over and goes on its way.

Shrews Shrews are small, active mammals that have to eat plenty of insects and worms every few hours to keep their energy up. They can eat more than their weight in food every day.

Shrew senses A shrew uses its very good senses of smell and hearing to find food, such as small insects and earthworms.

The spiny echidna The insect-eating echidna is also covered in spines. It is one of the most unusual animals because, with the duck-billed platypus, it is one of the only mammals that lay eggs. Echidna

Pygmy shrew

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The pygmy white-toothed shrew is half the size of your finger.

Mammals

Rodents Rodents are the mammal group that includes mice and rats. Rodents are found all over the world from deserts to the Arctic.

A rat’s tail helps it to balance and turn in the water.

The brown rat The rat is considered a pest. It lives almost everywhere in the world and can exist in huge numbers if enough food is available. Brown rat

Dinner time Rats eat everything we eat and more, which is why they can survive worldwide. The brown rat is a very good swimmer and can catch small fish underwater. Rats and mice have a very good sense of smell and “talk” to each other using their body smells.

?

d or wha r i t we

The black rat was responsible for killing half the population of London in 1665. It brought fleas to England that carried a deadly disease called the bubonic plague.

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Rodent teeth All rodents have four big front teeth, like this marmot’s. They are very sharp.

What is the biggest rodent in the world?

Rodents

Rodent groups Over 40 per cent of the world’s mammals are rodents. They come in many shapes and sizes. Hamster: this creature comes from Western Asia and is a very popular pet. Squirrel: it is an excellent tree climber and uses its tail for balance. Vole: water voles live by rivers and lakes and make burrows in the banks. Naked mole rat: it lives underground and burrows with flat feet.

Towns of rodents Some rodents live on their own, but a lot of them, such as these prairie dogs, live in large underground communities called towns. Each town comprises a number of burrows connected by long tunnels. Harvest mouse

Porcupine: this animal has sharp quills that it raises when threatened.

Mice Mice have pointed noses and long whiskers, which help them find their way around dark corners. This house mouse eats many different types of food and can produce 36,000 Harvest mice use their tails droppings in a year. like hands, to grip onto stalks.

A long, long sleep

The capybara – it’s as big as a pig!

House mouse

The dormouse can be found in the woods and fields of Europe and is an excellent climber and jumper. It hibernates, or sleeps, for seven months during the winter without waking up.

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Mammals

Flying mammals Flying squirrel

Some mammals have “wings”, so they can glide through the air, but bats are the only mammals that can actually fly by flapping their wings.

Greater mouseeared bats During the day, bats roost in dark caves, trees, or under a roof of a building. They sleep upside-down.

The glider The flying squirrel has loose pieces of skin on either side of its body. When it jumps, it opens them out like an umbrella and can glide for 100 m (330 ft), steering with its tail and legs.

Bats Bats’ wings are actually long arms with skin stretching between each finger. Their thumbs stick out like small claws to grip branches. Claw-like thumb

Bats squeak to find one another in the dark.

Vampire bat

The saliva of vampire bats numbs the skin of its victims so they can’t feel the blood-sucking bite.

Bat features A bat’s head shape reflects the way it feeds.

The real vampire The vampire bat’s favourite meal is fresh blood, even yours! It feeds by digging its sharp teeth into the flesh, then laps up the blood.

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What is the smallest bat in the world?

Fruit bat: has a long snout, and a long tongue to sip nectar and eat fruit. Long-eared bat: this bat has large ears that can hear insects’ wings flapping. Long-nosed bat: these bats have long noses to help them smell flowers.

Flying mammals

Bat babies Some bats bring up their babies together in a huge nursery, often filled with thousands of bats. Amazingly the mother can always find her baby when she returns with food.

Fruit bat

Bat diet Most bats eat insects. Others, like this fruit bat, use their long tongues to eat fruit and sip nectar from flowers.

Catching insects Bats are very good at catching insects in mid-air – in the dark! They find them by making clicking noises and listening for the echoes bouncing off insects.

Turn and learn Gliding frogs: pp. 100-101 Bloodsuckers: pp. 116-117

This Geoffroy’s long-nosed bat drinks nectar.

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The Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is the smallest – it is the size of a bumble bee.

Mammals

Marsupials

More marsupials Apart from a few that live in South America, almost all marsupials come from Australasia. They vary a lot in looks.

A marsupial is a mammal with a pocket, called a pouch, for carrying its babies in.

Dorian’s tree kangaroo: this small kangaroo can climb trees.

Koala

Numbat: this marsupial feeds almost entirely on ant-like termites.

Koalas look like little bears. They live in Australia and are the only animal that eats eucalyptus leaves. They are so hard to digest that koalas spend 19 hours of the day sleeping to let their tummies settle.

Rabbit-eared bandicoot: These large-eared burrowers are most active at night.

Little devil

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The Tasmanian devil is not much bigger than a small dog but it is very aggressive. It is the biggest meat-eating marsupial and has such powerful jaws that it can eat the entire animal – bones and all!

Bouncing marsupials Kangaroos cannot walk. Instead they have enormous back legs that they use to jump everywhere. They can move very fast just by leaping.

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Turn and learn A mammal that lays eggs: p. 9 and p. 27

Which are bigger, wallabies or kangaroos?

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Marsupials

Supermum! Opossums live in the Americas. Unusually for marsupials, the mother has no pouch. Instead, her babies cling to her. Sometimes one mother can have up to 20 babies at one time! Opossums are very good tree climbers.

In the pouch Most marsupials have pouches. When the babies are born, they are as small as beans and wriggle straight into the pouch. They do most of their growing there, instead of in their mother’s tummy.

The joey belonging to this mother is definitely big enough to climb out of its pouch.

Little joey Kangaroo and wallaby babies are commonly known as joeys. They spend several months in the mother’s pouch, and even when they are big enough to walk, they sometimes jump back in for safety.

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Their huge tails help to balance them when they hop.

Kangaroos look like wallabies, but they are bigger.

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Mammals

The mighty elephant Elephants are the largest land animals on Earth – the biggest one ever found weighed as much as 150 men! There are two main types of elephant, the African and the Asian.

African elephants

Living in herds African elephants live in groups called herds. However, only females and youngsters live together, males live on their own. A family usually contains about 8-10 elephants.

Elephants’ tusks are very big upper teeth.

Playtime! Baby elephants love to play, which is an important part of growing up in a herd. They chase one another, throw sticks, and climb all over each other.

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How big is an elephant’s toenail?

African elephants flap their enormous ears to keep themselves cool in the hot sun.

The mighty elephant

An amazing nose

Elephants make loud, trumpeting calls to each other.

Elephants have enormous noses, called trunks. But they are no ordinary noses, they do many more jobs than simply smelling. Elephants use their trunks to eat, drink, wash, and even pick up vibrations from the ground.

Asian elephant

A handy nose Elephants use their trunks to grab leaves high up in the trees that other animals cannot reach.

Afri can e ch u m l e e v p hants ha bigg ts. n er ear a h s than Asian elep

An elephant can grip things with the end of its nose, like people do with their hands. It uses its trunk to grasp plants and eat them, to greet other elephants, and to show aggression to others.

Bathtime! An elephant’s skin is very sensitive and needs a lot of bathing to rinse away creepy-crawlies and keep it cool. It often sucks up water in its trunk and sprays it over its body.

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An elephant’s toenail is as big as your hand!

Mammals

Hoofed mammals A hoof is a certain type of foot with a hard covering. Hoofed mammals are found all over the world.

Different hoofs A hoofed foot has a hard case, like a big toenail, around each toe for strength. Hoofed feet are good for fast running.

Wild pigs Pigs are hoofed mammals that eat almost anything. Wild pigs are speedy runners and protective of their little, stripy babies.

Horse: a horse has only one toe surrounded by a hoof. It runs on tiptoe. Rhinoceros: these large-hoofed mammals have three toes. Camel: the camel has two toes that are widely spaced for walking on sand.

Quick, duck!

The tapir

Tapirs spend much of their time in the water. When threatened, they sink under water leaving their noses poking above the surface like a snorkel so they can breathe.

Tapirs have very long noses and look like pigs, but they belong to a different hoofed family.

On bended knee The warthog is a long-legged, African pig. When it feeds, it kneels on its wrists.

The nose and upper lip form a trunk. Malaysian tapir

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What is a moose?

Hoofed mammals

Deer of the north Reindeer live in cold areas in the northern parts of the world. Twice a year they “migrate” – take a long journey – for thousands of miles to avoid bad weather and to breed.

Deer giants The elk lives in swampy forests of North America and Europe. It is the largest deer in the world. Its antlers can grow to 2 m (7 ft) across – bigger than an umbrella – with up to 20 spikes on them.

Deer Deer lose their antlers and grow new ones every year.

Deer are woodland animals that live together in small groups, called herds. They have antlers, which are made of bone.

Branching out Only male deer have antlers (apart from female reindeer, who have them as well). Deer antlers are always branched, unlike the pointed horns of cattle.

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It is the largest member of the deer family.

Mammals

The cattle family The cattle family are hoofed mammals. They are herbivores, which means they eat plants. They have four stomachs to digest the plants they eat. Early walkers Many members of the cattle family are killed for food by other animals. Babies, like this wildebeest calf, are able to run within hours of their birth so they can try to stay out of danger.

Grazers and browsers The cattle family all eat plants. Some are grazers, who eat low grass. Others, such as this generuk, are browsers: they eat from trees and shrubs.

The herd Most members live in large herds for safety. These bison move around together according to the seasons and the food available.

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Do members of the cattle family lose their horns yearly like deer?

The cattle family

The horn collection Unlike deer, members of the cattle family do not have branched horns.

Wild sheep Like farmed sheep, wild sheep are good at living in rocky regions.

Spring in its step

Antelope: male antelopes have long, pointed horns.

The springbok gets its name from its high spring-like bounces that show predators – animals that want to eat them – how fit it is.

Barbary sheep

Bighorn sheep: the horns of the male sheep curve almost in a circle. Blackbuck: these impressive horns are long and wiggly. Muskox: their horns curve right down, then up at the tips. Ibex: this mountain goat has huge, thick horns that curve over its back.

Wild cows, sheep, and goats were tamed thousands of years ago to provide meat, milk, wool, and leather. Modern farm cows are only distant relations of wild cattle. Jersey cow

No, cattle keep their horns for life.

Sitatunga: male sitatungas have long spiral horns.

Taming the beast

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Mammals

The horse family Thousands of years ago, horses were wild animals. Later, humans tamed them and wild horses almost disappeared. Wild horses of today include zebras and asses. The hoof Stallion

All horses and their relatives have one toe surrounded by a hoof. They run on tiptoe, which means they can run very fast. All horses have long tails and manes. Male horses are called stallions and females are called mares.

Mustangs The hard hoof protects the toe.

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The wild horses in the USA are actually tame horses that escaped into the wild hundreds of years ago. They live in herds of one male and lots of females.

How does a horse scratch its back?

The horse family

Mood swings Horses communicate with each other by moving their heads, tails, and ears.

Wild ass Asses are smaller than horses and have much longer ears. Asses that live with humans are called donkeys. The African wild ass, which is quite rare, lives in the rocky deserts of North Africa.

Teeth showing: horses bare their teeth if they are unhappy or if they are sniffing the air. Ears back: when a horse is angry, it puts its ears back flat against its head. Ears forward: when a horse is paying attention, it has its ears facing forwards.

Stripy horses Zebras are stripy horses. No one knows why they are stripy but we do know that, like our fingerprints, each zebra’s stripes are unique. They live in Africa in large herds and graze on grass.

Fighting it out Male zebras fight for females by rearing up or kicking with their back feet. One male will take control of about six females.

Plains zebras

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A horse likes to scratch its back by rolling around on the ground.

Mammals

Hoofed giants The last members of the hoofed family are by no means the least. They are some of the biggest mammals in the world. Meet the hoofed giants.

Family members Some cousins of the hoofed giants are much smaller in size. Okapi: this animal is the only relative of the giraffe. It has a much shorter neck. Pygmy hippo: this small hippo is a fifth the size of its cousin.

Healthy appetite Giraffes are never short of food – they have such long necks that they can reach high leaves on trees.

Alpaca: alpacas and llamas are camel cousins that live in South America.

Giraffes The giraffe is the world’s tallest animal. It is taller than three tall men standing on each other’s heads!

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How much can a camel drink at one time?

Hoofed giants

The huge rhinoceros

A two-humped camel is called a bactrian.

The rhinoceros has skin that is thicker than this book and huge horns that are made of hair.

White rhino

Ships of the desert Camels live in hot, dry places. Their humps act like huge food stores of fat that they can use up when there is nothing available to eat.

The hippopotamus This mammal giant has a huge, stocky body and stumpy legs. It spends a lot of time in water and it is so heavy it can walk along the bottom of a lake without floating up. A hippo can hold its breath for five minutes.

Indian rhino

There are very few rhinos left because people kill them for their horns.

Giraffes are so tall, they have to spread their front legs out wide to be able to bend low enough to reach the water.

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A camel can drink nine buckets of water without stopping.

Mammals

Water mammals Not all mammals live on land – some live in water. Unlike fish, however, water mammals have to go to the surface to breathe. Seals Seals, which include sea lions and walruses, have flippers instead of arms and legs. These make them very good at swimming but not good at walking.

Turn and learn Giant mammals of the sea: pp. 46-47

Underwater lives Sea lions can walk more easily than other seals because their flippers are able to move in several directions.

Seals spend most of their lives in water, but return to land to have babies. They have a thick layer of fat, called blubber, which keeps them warm.

Seals are often very playful in the water.

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What noise do seals make?

Water mammals

Otters Otters are mammals that have webbed feet to help them swim. The river otter lives along river banks and spends its day swimming to catch food.

Otters of the sea Sea cows Manatees are often called sea cows because they are so big and they “graze” on underwater plants. They spend all their lives in water, and even give birth there.

The sea otter is the smallest sea mammal. It has luxurious, thick fur that keeps it very warm. It rarely comes to land, and even sleeps in the water. When it nods off, it wraps itself up in kelp plants to stop it from drifting away!

Walruses Walruses are huge sea mammals. They have powerful, blubbery bodies and two large, front teeth, called tusks, which can grow up to 1 m (3 ft) long. Their tusks help them cut through ice sheets and keep enemies away.

In the pink Walruses are normally greyish brown in colour. But when they sunbathe, they turn blush-pink because their blood rushes to the surface of their skin to cool it down.

Walruses use their noses, like pigs, to root around the sea floor for food, such as crabs or sea urchins.

Seals bark like dogs!

Mammals

Ocean giants Whales and dolphins look like fish but they are actually mammals. The whale family includes some of the biggest creatures on earth.

Toothed whales There are two kinds of whales – toothed whales and baleen whales. Toothed whales eat fish and large animals, such as seals. The killer whale can even leap onto beaches to grab unfortunate seals.

The big blue The blue whale is the largest animal in the world – its heart is the size of a small car. The next largest creature, a bull African elephant, could sit on its tongue!

Baleen whales

Turn and learn Water mammals: pp. 44-45 Plankton: pp. 140-141

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Some whales, such as this humpback whale, have rows of filters called plates, instead of teeth. These are called baleen whales. They gulp huge amounts of water, then sieve it through the plates to remove the food – tiny animals called plankton.

What animal makes the loudest noise on Earth?

Ocean giants

Underwater gossip Whales live in groups, or pods, and many talk to each other using squeaks, whistles, rumbles, or clicks. Beluga whales “speak” so much that they are sometimes called sea canaries.

Whales Most whales look quite similar but a few have different features. Narwhal: this whale has an enormous sword-like tusk, which is actually a tooth. Porpoise: the porpoise is a toothed whale that looks similar to a dolphin. Sperm whale: this whale holds the record for the deepest dive of any mammal. Amazon river dolphin: this dolphin is one of the only freshwater whales.

Leaping dolphins Dolphins are small whales. They are highly intelligent and curious, and are often seen leaping alongside boats at sea.

Bottlenose dolphin

Dolphins have very strong tails that help lift it high above the surface.

Underwater babies

Dolphins leap out of the water to avoid enemies – leaping helps them to swim faster – or to herd fish by making loud splashes.

Whale and dolphin babies, called calves, grow in their mother’s tummies, like other mammals. The calf drinks its mother’s milk until it is old enough to eat solid food. Spotted dolphins, like this mother and calf, live in groups of up to 15. Spotted dolphin

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The blue whale is the loudest animal – it makes a very deep rumble.

Birds

Birds

Pigeon

Most birds can fly. This has meant that over the years, they have been able to live in places that other animals could not get to. They live all over the world, even in the chilly Arctic.

Scientists have discovered that modern birds evolved from dinosaurs.

Toucan Budgerigars Finches

Owl Parrot

Doves

Hummingbird

Stork

Ostrich Penguin Duck

Avocet

Kiwi

48 Which bird has the most feathers?

Birds

Picture detective Take a look through the bird pages and see if you can spot who these body parts belong to. Buzzard

Orange-flanked bush robin

Blackbird

Parakeets Macaw

A world full of birds There are almost 10,000 different kinds of birds in the world. They range from the enormous, flightless ostrich, which is taller than a man, to the bee hummingbird, which is smaller than your thumb.

Flamingo

Turkey

Chicken

Turn and learn Flying mammals: pp. 30-31 Flying insects: pp. 110-111

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The whistling swan – it has roughly 25,000!

Birds

The world of birds Only a few animals in the world are able to fly – insects, bats, and birds. But none of them are more powerful or skilled than birds. Feathers are made up of tiny hair-like barbs that all mesh together.

Birds spend much of their time looking after, or preening, their feathers to keep them in good condition.

Feathered friends Birds are the only creatures that have feathers. They use them to fly and to keep warm. Some birds use brightly coloured feathers for display.

A rigid “backbone”, or quill, runs through the centre of the wing feathers, strengthening them for flying.

Feathers Different feathers have different jobs on a bird. Outer wing: strong feathers to provide power in flight. Inner wing: has smooth and flat feathers to help in flight. Tail feather: long and thin for steering and balancing during flight. Body feather: soft and downy to keep a bird warm. Some have exotic colours.

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What is the world’s smallest bird?

Turn and learn Nest-making: pp. 54-55 Exotic birds: pp. 72-73

The world of birds

Flight Birds that can fly have wings and a very light skeleton – many of the bones are hollow. Their short and compact bodies also help make them neat fliers.

By flapping its wings up and down, the bird remains in the air.

There are two methods of flying; flapping, like this red-tailed minla, and gliding. Red-tailed minla

Travelling birds About one-third of birds spend summer in one place then when the winter sets in they fly thousands of miles to a warmer spot. Often they go to exactly the same places year after year.

Feet The shapes of birds’ feet very in different habitats.

Bills The shape and size of a bird’s bill, or beak, show what they eat.

Eagle foot: birds of prey have sharp talons to kill and grip animals.

Duck: wide and flat to tear plants and filter food underwater.

Perching foot: songbirds have three toes in front and one behind for perching.

Woodpecker: long and hard to chisel into wood and pick out insects.

Webbed foot: waterfowl have webbed feet to help them to paddle on water.

Chaffinch: short and cone-shaped, ideal for cracking seeds.

Ostrich foot: two thick toes help this flightless bird to run very fast.

Communication All birds have good hearing so they can respond to songs from other members of their family. Birds are well known for their tunes, and some, like this parrot, even speak.

Heron: ideal for stabbing fish underwater.

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The smallest bird in the world is the bee hummingbird.

Birds

Courtship At various stages in her life, a female bird will be on the lookout for a mate. Males go out of their way to impress the ladies, often in spectacular ways.

Fierce competition There is often competition between the males to attract the females, so performances have to be very slick. This female has chosen her mate.

Crowned cranes

A good decorator The male satin bowerbird builds an avenue of twigs, and at each end he places a collection of anything he finds attractive, such as shells, bones, or berries. The female picks the bower she finds the most appealing.

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Some birds of prey perform amazing aerobatic displays. The male and female lock talons in mid-air and fall almost to the ground before swooping up again.

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In which season do birds start courting?

Courtship

Building a home

Pairing off It is important for birds to find the right partner.

The male weaver bird builds an incredible nest that hangs from a branch. When a female passes by, he hangs beneath it fluttering his golden wings and shrieking to her to join him.

Peacock: the male shows off by shaking his spectacular tail. Swans: when a male and female swan mate, they stay together for life. Pheasant: male pheasants fight aggressively with each other for females.

Spottedbacked weaver

Foot dance The bluefooted booby has blue feet, which attracts the females. When a male wants a mate, he dances and lifts his feet to show them off.

Once cranes have selected a partner they dance together, then bow, leap, bounce, and make sudden frantic runs.

Show off

Of the 15 species of cranes, 11 are either threatened or in danger of extinction.

The male frigate bird has a huge, red neck pouch, which he inflates with air when he is looking for a mate. When a female passes by, he wobbles it around and makes gobbling noises to impress her.

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Birds mostly court each other in the spring.

Birds

Nesting All birds lay eggs, which other animals find tasty. To keep their eggs safe, many birds build nests.

A city in a nest Some weavers, called social weavers, build one huge nest to hold lots of birds. This only happens in dry regions, because if it got too heavy with rain it would fall.

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world.

Weaver bird

Out of reach The most important thing about a nest is that no enemies can reach it. For this reason many birds build their nest in trees.

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Tiny home Weaver birds go one step further than building nests in trees; they build them hanging down from branches.

Which birds are able to tie knots?

This hummingbird has built its nest on a fir cone. Some hummingbirds use spiders’ webs to secure their nests.

Nesting

A perfect fit Round, hollow nests like this are called cup nests. Birds build them in trees using twigs, feathers, moss, and anything else they can find.

Nests Some birds go to great lengths to make amazing-looking nests. Tunnel home: some weaver birds build nests with tunnel entrances. In the reeds: the reed warbler builds its nest between thin reeds.

When a bird has made its nest, it turns around and around in it until it has made a perfect hollow.

Pileated woodpecker

Handy holes Hollowed-out trees are good places to keep eggs safe. Woodpeckers make nests by chiselling through the wood with their sharp beaks. The following year, birds such as parrots, may use it.

Mud nest: the domed ovenbird makes its nest entirely out of mud. Tree trunk: A blue tit has built this nest in a hollow tree trunk.

Ground eggs Some birds don’t make nests at all. Instead, they lay their eggs on the ground. These Eurasian oystercatchers’ eggs are camouflaged against the pebbles.

Safety in numbers Along the west coast of Africa, thousands of cape gannets lay their eggs at the same time, right next to each other. This reduces the chances of the eggs being eaten.

Eggs The eggs are speckled and difficult to spot.

Birds’ eggs come in a variety of sizes and colours.

Southern cassowary egg

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Weaver birds can tie knots.

Birds

Hatching out Making or finding a nest is a lot of work for birds, but looking after the eggs and chicks is even harder! Blue tit

Inside the eggs, each chick grows using the yolk as food.

chicks

Nest birds The mother bird sits on her nest keeping the eggs warm until they hatch. When they are born, they  need constant feeding until they can look after themselves.

After two weeks, there is barely enough room to move. The chicks are now ready to fly away.

At one day old, the bald chicks are very hungry. At three days old, the chicks are demanding constant food. Their bright mouths are easily seen by parents.

At nine days, their feathers are starting to appear and the nest is getting crowded.

Baby birds

Waterbirds

There are two types of young bird. Nest birds are born blind and naked and depend completely on their parents. The other type, like ducklings, hatch with open eyes and a coat of downy feathers.

Waterbirds are often born on the ground rather than in nests, so they have to be able to get out of danger quickly. Ducklings take to water very soon after hatching.

The chick has an egg tooth that it uses to poke through the shell.

Duckling

It then pushes against both ends and breaks itself out of the egg.

Egg tooth

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Which bird builds the biggest nests in the world?

Hatching out

Swan family A female swan lays up to eight eggs in a clutch and only she looks after them. When the chicks are born, both parents take care of them for about five months.

These swan chicks catch a ride on their mother’s back. Wren

Feeding frenzy Both parents help to feed their chicks. Some can make up to 1,000 trips a day between them to bring back enough food.

Rotten parents

The cuckoo chick is fed by the adopted parents, and is often bigger than they are.

The bald eagle.

Cuckoos don’t look after their chicks. Instead, the female lays her egg in another bird’s nest. When it hatches, the chick kicks out the other eggs.

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Birds

Songbirds Most of the world’s birds are part of a huge family known as the songbirds. They spend a lot of their time in flight.

A variety of birds Members of the songbird family vary in looks, habits, and songs. Robin: European robins are easy to spot because of their red tummies. Blackbird: the blackbird often sings in the evenings from a high perch. Warbler: these birds are known for their different songs, including a scolding song.

Foot perch Songbirds, or perchers, all have a unique type of foot, which helps them to grip onto even the thinnest branches. Three of their toes point forwards and one points backwards.

The short beak is used to crack hard foods, such as nutshells. Songbirds can sleep on twigs and branches without falling off.

Finding food Like this song thrush, most songbirds are small, but because they use up a lot of energy flying, they need a lot of food. They feed on small insects, worms, and snails.

Blue tit

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How do songbirds learn how to sing?

Songbirds Songbird parents feed their chicks until they are 10–15 days old.

Bird songs Each species of songbird has its own special song, using different notes and rhythms. Most of the singing is performed by males.

Dawn chorus

Safety in flocks Many songbirds live in groups, called flocks. They collect food together and join forces to fight off bigger birds that might eat them. Many songbirds are small and compact, with short beaks.

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The Australian lyrebird can not only imitate other birds’ songs but also other sounds it hears in the rainforest, such as chainsaws and  even camera clicks!

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In Europe and North America, male songbirds sing loudly at dawn to attract females. Somehow, the females can hear and identify the correct tune among the many melodies.

Dunnock

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By listening to sounds the male parent makes and copying them.

Birds

Life in the air Some birds are spectacular acrobats. They are the experts of the air – a few can even fly backwards! Many birds spend most of their lives in the air.

Hummingbirds have long beaks that can poke into flowers to  sip the nectar.

Hummingbirds These tiny birds beat their wings in a figure-of-eight pattern. This means that they can hover and fly backwards! Smaller species beat their wings 80 times a second.

Magenta-throated woodstar hummingbird

Air acrobats Record holder The smallest bird in the world is the bee hummingbird. Found in Cuba, it feeds on nectar from flowers. Its eggs are smaller than peas!

Swifts, swallows, and martins have forked tails that help them to control their flight. They can catch insects while they are flying and even swoop down over water, like this swallow, and drink without landing.

Bee hummingbird

Some flying insects are bigger than the bee hummingbird.

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Swallow

What is unusual about the sword-billed hummingbird?

Life in the air

Nesting Swifts, such as this chimney swift, spend a lot of their time in the air but they must land when they are ready to nest.

Swallows’ nests Swallows collect mud pellets and mould them into cupshaped nests. These can often be seen beneath the eaves of buildings. The parents feed the chicks by hovering near them rather than landing.

Swallows have small beaks, but big mouths to catch insects in mid-air.

Forked tail

Turn and learn Other nesting methods: pp. 54-55

Nesting in burrows Sand martins look similar to swallows. They make their nests by digging burrows in soft earth along riverbanks or in cliffs.

The swift Swift

Swifts can spend a lot of time in the air without landing. They even sleep on the wing!

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It is the only bird whose beak is longer than its body.

Birds

Freshwater birds If you search around fresh water anywhere in the world, you will find teams of birds living on it or near it. Some are swimmers and others Mallard duck (female) are waders.

The male mallard makes a lower pitched quack than the female, and whistles as well. Geese Swan

Cygnets (baby swans)

Mallard drake (male)

Kingfishers

Waterfowl

Kingfishers live by rivers. They perch on branches above the water waiting for fish to swim past. When they see one, they dive!

Ducks, geese, and swans are waterfowl. They have boat-shaped bodies and webbed feet, which make them very good swimmers.

When the kingfisher catches a fish, it flicks its wings, resurfaces, and flies away with its dinner.

Bottoms up! Waterfowl have long bills with sharp ridges along them to grip slippery fish. Mallards often feed by tipping their heads into the water to reach plants.

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How long do herons usually live?

Freshwater birds This stork, with its hunchback and bald neck, is often described as ugly.

Flamingo

Blackcrowned night heron

Heron

Wattled jacana Marabou stork

Waders Waders have long legs that allow them to walk in shallow water without getting their feathers wet. Some also have long necks for finding food.

Have a stab Herons are found living next to rivers and lakes. They eat fish, which they catch by darting their “s”-shaped necks forwards at lightning speed and stabbing the fish with their sharp beaks.

Pink flamingos Flamingos live in huge flocks, of sometimes a million birds! Many of them are pink because of the tiny shrimps that they eat.

Flamingos sleep in the water, often on one leg.

Flamingo

Turn and learn Migrating birds: pp. 76-77 Sea birds: pp. 64-65

Flamingos’ bills act like sieves to filter out tiny food from the water.

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Herons can live up to 20 years.

Birds

A life at sea

Sea birds

A lot of sea birds, such as this albatross, have webbed feet that help them swim, and special beaks to hold slippery fish.

Many birds spend their lives next to the sea or out on the open ocean. Some return to land only to breed and raise young. Webbed feet

Dramatic divers

The albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird

The sea is full of prey and birds have various ways to catch it. Some chase fish underwater while others, such as gannets and boobies, dive down like torpedoes from the air to snatch them.

Other sea birds The coastlines of the world are always packed with sea birds.

Pelican

Herring gull: this bird is common in Europe and North America. Inca tern: this bright-beaked bird  lives on the west coast of South America. Cormorant: this bird can also be found inland in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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Pelicans also use their large mouths to catch rainwater for drinking.

A mouthful of fish A pelican dives underwater and scoops up fish in its large mouth. It can fit three times more fish in its mouth pouch than in its stomach!

How long can birds survive without returning to land?

Sea birds

Cliff birds These black-legged kittiwakes, like many other birds, live in huge, noisy groups on cliff faces. They even nest and lay their eggs on the narrow ledges.

A flock of gulls

Puffins

The cliffs are a safe place to rest, away from enemies.

The puffin can dive to depths of 60 m (200 ft).

The puffin has webbed feet and small wings, which it uses like fins to swim, as well as to fly. It raises its one chick, called a puffling, in a burrow.

Puffin

Turn and learn The ultimate sea bird – the penguin: pp. 66-67

Some do not return to land for five years!

The albatross’ beak is hooked, with special ridges to help it hold onto fish.

Gulls can often be seen in huge numbers along the seashore. They eat almost anything, raiding rubbish dumps and stealing other birds’ eggs.

Kittiwakes

What a lot of fish! Atlantic puffins have large, colourful beaks. The top bill and tongue are ridged with spikes that enable it to hold lots of fish at one time.

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Birds

In the chill You have to be pretty tough to survive the freezing temperatures of the Antarctic. But some birds not only survive but thrive in the chill.

The penguin Most penguins, such as these emperor penguins, live in colonies, which can consist of hundreds of thousands of birds.

Penguins cannot fly but they sometimes leap into the water from icebergs.

Water wings Penguins may look clumsy on land and can’t even make it into the air, but in the water they are master swimmers. They use their wings as flippers and their tails and feet to steer.

Keeping warm To keep them warm in icy water and in the snow, penguins have a dense covering of waterproof feathers and many layers of fat. Egg

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How long can a penguin stay underwater?

In the chill

Other snow birds One of the few birds that lives and breeds on Antarctica all year round is the snow petrel. It is completely white, which keeps it hidden in the snow.

Penguins’ feet are positioned so far back that when they stand upright, they have to use their tails to balance or they would topple over backwards.

Antarctic skua

Penguin predators This Antarctic skua lives on or near the ice in Antarctica and nests at the coast. It eats penguin eggs and even baby penguins if they are left unguarded.

Adult penguins have white tummies and dark backs, which help to camouflage them in the water.

Penguin parents King penguins tuck their eggs under their bellies, resting them on their feet. The parents take turns to look after their egg. When king penguin chicks are born, they are covered in brown, downy feathers. In very cold conditions chicks and penguins huddle together for warmth.

be t s u m The chicks ow fed until they gr ers h t fe a f o o r p adult, water

Turn and learn Flightless birds: pp. 78-79 Other sea birds: pp. 64-65

Slip-sliding around Penguins find it hard to walk, so they often slide on their bellies over snow and ice, pushing with their flippers and feet.

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The emperor penguin holds the longest recorded time underwater – 20 minutes.

Birds

Birds of prey With their huge wings, sharp talons, and hooked beaks, birds of prey are the hunting kings of the bird world. Hunting Many birds of prey spot an animal on the ground from very high up in the air with their excellent eyesight. They swoop down and grab it with their sharp talons. African hawk eagle

Birds of prey are the only birds that kill with their feet. Secretary bird

Walkabout These birds are famous for eating snakes, which they kill by stamping on them.

Eagles are the most powerful of the birds of prey. They can kill animals as big as themselves.

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Secretary birds have incredibly longs legs. They rarely fly. Instead they can be seen taking long strides across the grasslands of Africa.

Which is the fastest bird of prey?

Birds of prey Red tailed buzzard

The vulture

A buzzard’s wings are huge, which means they are fast flyers that can glide and even hover without flapping their wings.

Vultures are the waste collectors of the world, eating dead animals before they rot. They very rarely kill their own food.

Vultures Vultures are very clean birds. After eating they will often fly long distances to have a bath.

A vulture’s taste Vultures don’t just eat dead animals. This Egyptian vulture enjoys eggs as well.

The Egyptian vulture loves ostrich eggs but cannot break them with its beak. Instead it uses a stone to crack the egg.

The osprey Ostrich egg

Ospreys have such good eyesight that they can spot fish swimming underwater. They swoop down to the surface and seize the fish in their talons, often without landing on the water.

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The peregrine falcon – it can dive down towards its prey at 270 kph (168 mph).

Birds

Night flyers As the sun sets, most birds settle down for a good night’s sleep. Owls and nightjars, however, are preparing for a night of hunting.

Owl types Owls come in lots of sizes and colours and can be found around the world. Great horned owl: this regal-looking owl has ear tufts or “horns”. Spectacled owl: this owl lives in the South American rainforest. Snowy owl: this owl has extra feathers on its feet, to keep it warm, like slippers.

Nightjars Nightjars rest on the ground during the day. At night they hunt, plucking insects out of the air as they fly.

Burrowing owl: this owl makes its nest underground.

Barn owl

Hooked beaks help to tear up food.

Hidden from sight During the day owls sleep, often in branches of trees. Their feathers camouflage them so well, as on these scops owls, that people very rarely notice them.

Owls All owls, such as this barn owl, hunt in darkness and must rely on their amazing eyesight and hearing to help them. Owls use their sharp talons to catch and grip animals that they eat.

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Many owls have velvety fringes around their flight feathers that make their wings very quiet as they fly through the air.

What is the smallest owl in the world?

Owl eggs are almost completely round.

Night flyers

Hunting by night All owls eat small animals. They swoop silently on their victims in the dark and grab them in their sharp talons.

In the dark owls sometimes find animals only by the sounds they make.

Tawny owl

Most owl chicks learn to fly when they are two months old. Until then, they are fed by their parents.

Owls like to eat animals, such as mice and small birds.

Eating Owls cannot chew so they swallow their food whole. When they have digested the animal, they cough up the bones and fur as a small pellet. If you tear one of these pellets apart, you can see the whole skeleton of the animal it has just eaten.

An owl’s mouth may look quite small but it can open very wide indeed.

Owl pellets

Iranian eagle owl chicks

Owl chicks Rather than build nests, owls prefer to lay their eggs in holes of some kind – in trees or buildings. The male and female both help to feed the chicks.

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The elf owl – it is only 15 cm (6 in) tall.

Birds

Exotic flyers Tropical rainforests and places with warm climates are filled with exotic and colourful birds, which are often very large. This species of toucan lives in the top of the rainforest canopy.

The toucan uses its massive bill to reach for fruits on the tips of branches.

Chestnuteared aracari

Although the bill looks heavy, it is hollow and, therefore, very light. Toucan

Toucans have two toes facing forwards and two facing backwards on each foot.

Toucans These birds live in the South American rainforest and surrounding areas. They are famous for their huge bills.

Birds of paradise These exotic birds are from Papua New Guinea. This raggiana bird of paradise is showing off his beautiful feathers to a female by opening his wings and shaking them at her.

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Where do budgerigars live in the wild?

Exotic flyers

The parrot family Parrots are very colourful and often very noisy. They are strong fliers and good climbers. Parrots include macaws, budgerigars, lovebirds, and parakeets. Rainbow lorikeet

Crested cockatoos These parrots, called cockatoos, have a bright yellow crest on their head, which they raise when they are frightened or angry.

Almost all parrots eat fruit, nuts, and seeds. They are the only birds that hold food up to their mouths using their feet.

Budgerigars are popular as pets for their ability to mimic sounds and “talk”.

Lorikeets are the  most colourful of all parrots. They can be found along the east coast of Australia.

Turn and learn Colourful creatures of the ocean: pp. 144-151

They live in Australia.

Nuts about nuts

Scarlet macaw

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Birds Some game birds, like these chickens, are raised specifically to provide food for humans.

Game birds

Game birds live most of their lives on the ground. Most are plump with a small head, short wings, and sturdy, This male common strong legs. pheasant has a tough, hooked beak for digging up plant roots and insects to eat.

Sport

M al e

Game birds, such as this male common pheasant, are hunted by humans for sport, which is why they are called game birds.

Cockerel

Good-looking males Like most male game birds, this cockerel is more brightly coloured than the hen. He uses his fine feathers to attract females.

s

ha

Hen

ve br i

Nesting Most game birds nest in shallow holes in the ground. They can produce more than 20 eggs in one nest – more than most other birds. Females are duller in colour than the males, to camouflage them against the ground when nesting.

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Some game birds keep their eggs warm not by sitting on them, but by burying them underground.

Where are wild turkeys commonly found?

ghtl y

col

ou r ed

The tail drags along the ground behind the male when not spread out.

fea the rs.. .

Game birds The peahen chooses a peacock as her mate based entirely on his looks.

Vertical take-off Game birds are strong runners and prefer to run away from danger rather than fly. When very afraid, however, they are capable of rocketing upwards quickly with frantic, flapping wing beats.

Peahen The peacock lifts his tail and shakes it at the female. Peacock

Reeve’s pheasant When they fly upwards at speed, their wings make a whirring sound that can startle enemies.

An amazing tail The male peacock has the most spectacular tail in the animal world. When he wants to attract attention, he raises it high.

This male ptarmigan is in its summer plumage.

les. ... that attract fema Colour change Turn and learn Courtship displays between birds: pp. 52-53

Pheasant chicks

In the woodlands of the USA.

Game bird chicks escape danger on the ground because they are able to run and fly soon after hatching.

Not all males have bright feathers. Both male and female willow ptarmigans change their colours throughout the seasons so they are always camouflaged.

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Birds

Globetrotters The great advantage birds have is that they can fly. This means they can choose the warmest part of the world to live in at any one time. Record holder

Sanderling: waders eat a lot before leaving so they can fly non-stop. Canada goose: geese are fast fliers, so they use a lot of energy and need to stop frequently to eat.

Arctic

Many birds have a summer and a winter home in different places. Their journey from one place to another is called migration.

ICA

C PA

Migration A FR

CENTRAL AMERICA

TIC OCEAN LAN AT

IFIC OCEAN

EUROPE NORTH AMERICA

Song thrush: these small birds are night fliers and use the stars to find their way. Buzzard: these birds of prey wait for a warm day and glide for long distances.

Arctic tern

The Arctic tern is the biggest traveller of all. Each year, it flies the whole way around the world from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back again.

Travelling birds Birds have different travel habits. Some fly non-stop, some rest on the way.

SOUTH AMERICA

Swan: these birds fly by day or night but rest if visibility gets poor. Ruby-throated hummingbird: this tiny bird flies non-stop across the Gulf of Mexico.

To Antarctica

Gaggles of geese Each winter, tens of thousands of snow geese leave Canada for a 2,000 km (1,250 miles) trip to California and Mexico. They follow exactly the same route each year.

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What proportion of the world’s birds migrate each year?

Globe trotters

Birds of prey

he warm lp the air curr e n ts mg lide.

Bald eagle

s u s gle to

e

Waterfowl: pp. 62-63 Birds of prey pp. 68-69

Hawks, buzzards, and eagles from North America fly south to warmer climates as the winter approaches.

Ea Knots

Knots leave the Arctic in the autumn and fly towards South America. They travel over the 3,218 km (2,000 miles) of ocean non-stop.

“V” formation Many birds fly in a “v” formation because the bird in front makes the air easier to fly through for the ones behind.

About one third of all birds in the world migrate.

Turn and learn

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Birds

Flightless birds Some birds cannot fly even though they have wings. Often, as a result of this, they become excellent at running or swimming instead.

New Zealand birds There are so few mammals here that some birds have no need to fly. Kakapo: this flightless bird is the world’s rarest parrot.

The ostrich has a long neck and a small head.

Kiwi: the kiwi lives on the ground. Its feathers are so small they look like fur. Takahe: these birds were almost extinct, but are slowly increasing in numbers.

Rapid runners Ostriches are the fastest bird runners in the world. In fact they are faster than racehorses – they can reach speeds of 75 kph (45 mph).

Ostrich

The ostrich Ostriches are the world’s largest birds. They have feathers, which look more like fur, to keep them warm. Even though they can’t fly they still have small wings, which are not used for flying, but may have various other uses like shading their young.

The ostrich is the only bird in the world to have only two toes.

Moving in flocks Like flying birds, ostriches and emus live in large groups, called flocks.

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Which bird lays the largest eggs?

Flightless birds

Flightless wings One reason birds have wings is to make a quick escape from predators. If birds don’t have predators, they have no need to fly and may lose this ability over time.

Flightless birds, like this rhea, have wings that they don’t use for flying.

Penguins The penguin uses its wings as flippers to “fly” underwater. Its feathers are short and stiff to help keep them warm in cold climates.

Flightless cormorants The Galápagos Islands off western South America have no animals that kill birds, so their cormorants have lost the ability to fly. They have become good swimmers.

Penguins: pp. 66-67 Bird’s eggs: pp. 56-57 Large flightless birds have thick legs, which help them to run fast.

Rheas and emus have three large toes that all face forwards.

Rearing rheas Most birds’ eggs are looked after by their mothers, but in the rhea family the father is in charge. He sometimes looks after up to 60 eggs, all from different mothers, in one nest.

The father looks after the babies until they are five months old.

The ostrich.

Turn and learn

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Reptiles and amphibians

Reptiles and amphibians Reptiles and amphibians are the “cold-blooded” creatures of our world. Most amphibians, which include frogs and toads, live near water. Reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, Baby caiman are found both on land and in water.

Flying gecko

Green tree python

Anole lizards

Baby spectacled caiman Common snakenecked turtle Common snapping turtle

Madagascan day gecko

Rattlesnake

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Are snakes reptiles or amphibians?

Cold-blooded Cold-blooded creatures do not have cold blood. Cold-blooded means they are the same temperature as the air or water around them. If they are cold, they sunbathe. If hot, they seek shade.

Reptiles and amphibians Reptiles have scaly skin.

Wagler’s pit viper

Green anaconda

Picture Detective Take a look through the reptiles and amphibians pages and see if you can spot who these skins belong to.

Ornate horned toad

European common frog

Diadem snake

White’s tree frog

Asian tree toad

Green iguana

Turn and learn Creatures with scales: pp. 142-151

Snakes are reptiles.

Indian starred tortoise

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Reptiles

The world

of

reptiles

Reptiles are mainly egg-laying animals that have a tough skin covered in scales. They live on land and in water. The reptile groups There are four main groups of reptiles. The tortoise family: these reptiles all have a shell over their bodies. Snakes and lizards: the majority of reptiles fall into this group.

Reptiles can eat huge meals, then go without food for days.

Eating habits Most reptiles are meat-eaters, apart from tortoises, which move too slowly to catch fast-moving prey. Lizards, such as this gecko, can eat half their own weight in insects in one night. All reptiles shed their skin from time to time.

Most reptiles, like this lizard, swing their bodies from side to side when walking.

Flying gecko

Hot and cold Reptiles have scales, which can control how much water they lose through their skin. This means they can live in dry places. They are, however, cold–blooded, and so rely on the climate to keep their bodies warm.

The crocodile family: this group are the giants of the reptile world. Tuataras: these reptiles are very rare and look a bit like lizards.

European eyed lizard

Reptile babies Nearly all reptiles lay eggs, which hatch into miniature versions of their parents. However, a few, such as this slow worm, give birth to live young.

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What is the longest snake in the world?

This lizard, which lives in the desert, basks on rocks to warm up its body.

The world of reptiles

Living fossils

Tuataras live in burrows and hunt at night. They can live for 100 years.

Tuataras are the only survivors of a group of reptiles that lived with the dinosaurs millions of years ago. Today, they live on a group of islands off New Zealand.

Scaly skin A reptile’s skin is covered with scales made of keratin, like your nails. Tortoise: the shell of a tortoise has lots of large, hard scales on it. Lizard: lizards’ scales have stretchy skin between them.

Reptile relatives The reptiles of today are living relatives of dinosaurs and look very similar to their ancient ancestors. You can see similarities between the Tyrannosaurus rex and this lizard. Tyrannosaurus rex

Crocodile: these scales are strengthened in between by bony plates. Snake: the skin on snakes has overlapping scales for extra protection.

Turn and learn

Collared lizard

Snails: pp. 132-133

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The reticulated python can reach lengths of 10 m (33 ft).

Reptiles

Under a shell You can spot tortoises or turtles because they carry their homes on their backs – these domes, called shells, are attached to their bodies. Tortoise or turtle?

Tortoise

The main difference between these two reptiles is that tortoises live on land and turtles live in water.

Shell shapes Shells are hard and protect the body. They come in many shapes. Starred tortoise: their high domed shells are difficult to attack.

Turtles

African red-necked turtle: flatter shells help turtles slip through water. Red-footed tortoise: these tortoises have unusually long shells.

Tortoises Tortoises walk very slowly because of their heavy shells. They have short, stocky legs that support their weight. They spend most of the day eating plants.

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Turtles Turtles live under water. They sometimes poke their heads out to breathe, but they can also breathe through their skin. Some can stay under the surface for weeks.

Do tortoises have teeth?

Under a shell

Race to the ocean Eggs and babies Most turtle and tortoise eggs are completely round, like ping-pong balls. Some are hard, but others are quite soft to touch. The babies peck their way out of the eggs.

Tortoises and turtles are born complete with their shells.

Turtles return to land to lay eggs – sometimes thousands of them on one beach. When they hatch, the babies all make a rush for the sea where they will live.

Hiding on the spot

Hinge-back tortoise

When a tortoise feels threatened, it quickly pulls its legs and head under its shell, and keeps very still. The shell is too hard for any animal to eat.

ells are made of h s bo es’ s i o t r o n T

e.

Galápagos giants The biggest tortoises in the world live on the Galápagos Islands off the coast of South America. They can be 1.8 m (6 ft) long – that’s as long as a man is tall! The Galápagos tortoise can live up to 150 years old.

Experts believe that tortoises lived among the dinosaurs 200 million years ago and have changed little since.

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No, instead they have sharp jaws that can snip twigs and leaves.

Reptiles

Introducing lizards There are over 40,000 different types of lizard, living in habitats ranging from deserts to rainforests. They are particularly fond of hot places.

Most lizards have sharp teeth along the edges of their jaws.

Tokay gecko

Lizards Lizards have scaly bodies and four feet that each have five fingers. As lizards grow, they shed their skin about once a month.

Legless lizards Madagascan day gecko

Slow worm

This slow worm is not a worm – it’s a lizard. It looks like a snake but, unlike snakes, it has eyelids and a notched tongue, whereas snakes’ tongues are forked. Some lizards have no eyelids. They lick their eyes to clean them.

Day gecko Most geckos prefer to be active at night but this Madagascan day gecko likes the daylight. It lives in forests and eats small insects and fruit.

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Which is the fastest lizard on Earth?

Introducing lizards

Flying lizards

Getting around

Lizards can’t fly, but some can glide from tree to tree. This lizard has skin around its body that opens out, like a parachute.

Lizards are extremely agile. They can run very fast, some climb trees, and some can even walk on water! Climbing lizards, such as chameleons, have long claws that grip onto branches.

Eggs Most lizards lay eggs on the ground. Laying: lizards lay their eggs among leaves on the ground or in sandy holes. Eggs: the eggs are soft and leathery – easier to break out of. Hatching: after two to three weeks the lizards hatch. Babies: baby lizards look like their parents.

Chameleon

The chameleon’s tail helps it to balance when it perches on thin twigs.

Sticky fingers Geckos have special toe pads covered in millions of tiny hair-like spikes. These spikes can grip any surface, so geckos are able climb up walls and even along ceilings.

Walking on water When they want to go faster, some lizards, like this crested water dragon, run on their hind legs. The basilisk lizard above can even run for short distances across the surface of the water, its wide feet pushing it along at high speed.

Crested water dragon

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The racerunner can run at 29 kph (18 mph) – that’s faster than most people can run.

Reptiles

Get lost! When the frilled lizard feels threatened, it doesn’t run away. Instead it opens its umbrella-like frill around its neck, rocks its body, and hisses loudly. This is often enough to scare the enemy away.

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The frilled lizard also lashes its tail backwards and forwards.

defence

fr i ll e d

Some lizards are fast runners, so they can get away from danger quickly. They also use their speed to catch smaller animals for food.

and

liz ar

Hunting

Turn and learn Insect defence: pp. 114-115 Fish defence: pp. 148-149

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Frilled lizard

What is unusual about a chameleon’s eyes?

Hunting and defence Chameleon

Losing the tail

Lunch time

Some lizards are able to detach part of their tail if it is grabbed. Often the tail will carry on wiggling when it has broken off, which can distract the enemy.

Most lizards eat meat. Some eat small animals; some can eat animals bigger than themselves. This chameleon flicks out its enormous, sticky tongue and catches insects on the tip.

This tree skink has broken its tail and is growing a new one.

The Komodo dragon can grow to 3 m (10 ft) long.

Enter the dragon The Komodo dragon is the largest of all lizards. It is so powerful it can catch and kill animals bigger than itself. It has a long forked tongue that it uses to taste the air and search out dead animals. It lives in Indonesia. Gila monster

Thorny devil

A touch of venom The Gila monster is one of only two species of venomous lizards. When it has caught a victim, it chews the venom into their bodies to kill them.

Thorny defence The thorny devil has a very tough defence. Its back is covered with sharp spines, which make picking it up and eating it very difficult indeed.

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Chameleons can move their eyes in different directions.

Reptiles

Slithering snakes Snakes can survive anywhere, from cold climates to the hot deserts and rainforests of the world – you can even find them underwater. Getting around Snakes have no arms and no legs. Instead they have a bendy body that wriggles. Some slither in a straight line, others like this viper wiggle in an “s” shape.

A snake’s forked tongue flicks in the air to smell food or alert it to enemies.

Red-tailed racer

Types of snake Snakes can be divided into four different groups, or families. Typical snakes: this family is the biggest of the four.

Vipers: they have venomous fangs and live in the hot places. Constrictors: kill their prey by squeezing them to death. Cobras and kraits: they are some of the most deadly creatures alive.

Snakes have no eyelids, so they cannot blink.

Snake senses Snakes can’t see or hear very well, but they can smell much better than you or me. They use their forked tongues to smell and taste the air around them.

Turn and learn Snake defence: pp. 92-93 Snake-like eel: p. 149

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What is the smallest snake?

Slithering snakes Some tree snakes have ridges on their bellies, which help them to grip onto branches.

Snakes everywhere Snake body shapes are adapted to where they live. Ground snakes have heavy bodies to slide through soil, while sea snakes have oar-like tails for swimming.

Tree climbers Many snakes live in trees, coiling themselves around the branches. They tend to have long tails to help them climb and balance.

Snakes have ver Tree snakes can find birds’ yb nests in the trees using end smell in order to attack yb and eat the chicks. odi Hibernating es. Snakes can’t control their Most sea snakes, such as this sea krait, are incredibly venomous.

body temperature very well so those that live in cold climates often have a long sleep, or hibernation, during the winter. They can survive Garter for many months snakes without eating.

Laying eggs Snakes lay eggs but most do not make good parents. The python coils itself around its eggs to keep them warm, but most snakes leave them, so the young must fend for themselves.

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The thread snake – it is not much bigger than a worm.

Reptiles

Attack

and

defence

All snakes eat animals, including smaller snakes. But other animals also find snakes a tasty meal, so they have to be experts at defending themselves as well as hunting for food.

Forms of defence Snakes have many other defences that protect them from enemies. Playing dead: the grass snake lies with its mouth open pretending to be dead. Camouflage: this viper’s colouring camouflages it among the leaves. Rattlers: the rattlesnake shakes its tail making a loud warning noise.

Attack Protection When danger threatens, the cobra rears up its head and hisses. If this doesn’t frighten the enemy away, it strikes.

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Snakes have various ways to protect themselves. Some snakes, such as the forest pit viper above, have long fangs containing deadly venom. When threatened, they bite.

Spitting cobra

Cobras are among the most dangerous snakes on Earth; their venom can easily kill humans. This spitting cobra squirts venom at its victims, which can permanently blind them.

Which is the most venomous snake in the world?

Attack and defence

Cunning

Eating habits

Snakes creep up on their victims then lunge at them incredibly quickly. They kill larger victims before they eat them, either by injecting venom or crushing them.

Snakes eat pretty much anything that moves, from ants and snails to goats and crocodiles. The eggeating snake can swallow eggs bigger than its head! It then squeezes the insides out and vomits up the shell.

Green cat snake Egg-eating snake

The snake’s jaws are elastic and stretch wide to allow it to eat big animals.

The egg is squashed by muscles inside the snake’s body.

A tight squeeze Constrictors, such as this anaconda, wrap themselves around their victims and squeeze them until they can’t breathe. This snake will eat this large alligator whole! Snakes can eat so much in one meal that they don’t have to feed for weeks.

Turn and learn How lizards defend themselves against enemies: pp. 88-89

The “fierce snake”, found in Australia, is the most venomous.

Many snakes are well camouflaged against their background, which makes it easier for them to stalk victims.

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Reptiles

Crocodiles

and

alligators

Lurking beneath the water are the monsters of the reptile world. Meet the wild, ferocious crocodilians. This animal is a caiman, a type of alligator that lives in Central and South America.

Crocodilians have three eyelids on each eye – one acts like goggles underwater.

Crocodilians There are three types of crocodilians. Gharial: this crocodilian has a long thin snout. Alligator: it has a shorter, broader snout and lives in the Americas.

Fierce crocs Crocodilians are large, meat-eating reptiles that live in water, but sometimes hunt on land as well. They all have very powerful jaws and teeth.

Crocodile: unlike the alligator, it has teeth showing when its mouth is closed.

Crocodilians Water beasts Crocodiles and alligators live in water and are very good swimmers. Their eyes and nostrils are on top of their head so that they can see, breathe, and hunt with the rest of their bodies underwater.

c an not ch

Spectacled caiman

Most crocodilians live in freshwater rivers and lakes, although a few species also venture out to sea.

Day to day Crocodilians lead fairly lazy lives. During the morning and evening they lie on banks basking in the sun with their mouths open. This helps them to warm up or cool down. They spend the night in the water.

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How big can crocodiles grow?

ew.

Crocodiles and alligators

Parenting

The temperature at which the female keeps the eggs determines whether they are male or female.

Crocodilians make very good parents. Males attract females by bellowing and blowing bubbles. The female lays her eggs near the water and guards them fiercely. Baby crocodile being carried by its mother

Parenthood

Nile crocodile

The female stays with the eggs until they hatch into tiny versions of their parents. Often the mother will then pop the babies into her mouth and carry them to the safety of the water.

t. a e They rm shake and tea

Turn and learn

Crocodiles and alligators only eat about 50 meals a year.

Other reptiles that enjoy the water – turtles: pp. 84-85

A large appetite Crocodilians are some of the world’s great meat-eaters. Often, like this crocodile, they wait at the water’s edge for an animal to take a drink, then they attack, grabbing it with their massive jaws. They can kill animals bigger than themselves.

95

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to a massive 6 m (20 ft) – that’s as long as a large car.

Amphibians

The world

Fire salamander

of

amphibians

Amphibians are different from reptiles in that they have smooth skin with no scales. They are born in water, then live on land or in water when they grow up.

Amphibians There are three main types of amphibians. Frogs and toads: these amphibians have no tail and big back legs. Newts and salamanders: these lizard-shaped animals live on land or in water. Caecilians: these worm-like creatures have no legs.

Amazing skin Most adult amphibians, such as this salamander, can breathe through their skin as well as their lungs. In order for the skin to breathe it has to be kept moist, which is why most amphibians like to live near water.

Turn and learn Mammals that also like to live in water: pp. 44-45

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Colourful creatures Many amphibians are incredibly colourful creatures. Some are spotted, others are striped, and some are just very bright.

What is the world’s most poisonous frog?

The world of amphibians

A choice of home Frogs and toads can live both on land and in water. Some even live in trees.

Water living

Land frogs tend to be more rounded in shape than water frogs.

al

lt re e

s.

Some salamanders spend the whole of their lives underwater. This cave salamander does not have any lungs; it breathes using gills, like a fish. It is almost blind.

Tomato frogs

n

Caecilians

Legless caecilians are rarely seen by humans because they live either underwater or underground. They have a pointed head, which they use as a shovel. If an animal is poisonous it is often a very bright colour that warns predators.

Travelling parents

Common newt

Each spring salamanders, newts, frogs, and toads lay their eggs in ponds or streams. Some travel 5 km (3 miles) to get there.

The most poisonous frog is the golden poison dart frog.

ogs r f e So m

i e v li

t e th

t f o s op

97

Amphibians

Frogs

and

toads

White’s tree frog

Frogs often Frogs and toads have short, have longer back legs tubby bodies and large heads than toads. with bulging eyes. They have no visible neck and most have Frog or toad? There are not many differences between a very wide mouth. Frogs and frogs and toads. Toads tend to have toads live in lots of different warty skin, while frogs have smooth skin. habitats around the world. traightens its legs and s g o r push he f t , p es a a le o t way r e d r o ... In

North American leopard frog Frogs leap to move around and to escape danger.

Legs and leaping Frogs are well known for their high leaps into the air, which they make using their muscular back legs. Because these are longer than the front ones, they stay folded until it’s time to jump!

Making more frogs Each spring, thousands of frogs return to the water to find a mate and lay their eggs. Large clumps of these eggs, called spawn, are laid together, covered in jelly to protect them.

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How many eggs can frogs and toads lay in a lifetime?

Tadpoles live under water until they are frogs.

Spawn

Frogs and toads

Time for a chat

Toads’ feet are less webbed than frogs’.

Oriental fire-bellied toad

Frogs and toads are big talkers. They croak to attract females and alarm enemies. This toad has an inflatable vocal sac – a big piece of stretchy skin that helps make an extra-loud sound.

Running frogs Not all frogs leap to move around. These African running frogs live in grassy areas where they prefer to remain low, so they raise their body off the ground and run. Webbed feet

... f

ro

m

th

e

gr ou Frogs often nd dive into water .

The African running frog is in the crouching position.

To move, it raises itself up and takes long strides forwards.

In the water Frogs and toads are very good swimmers. They have webbed feet, which help them move quickly through the water. They swim by bending their legs in and out, just like people do in the breaststroke.

for safety.

Junior frogs Frog and toad eggs hatch into tadpoles, which are completely different from adults. They look like tiny fish with no legs and a long tail. Over four months, the tadpoles gradually grow legs, lose their tails, and turn into miniature frogs. When a frog is fully formed, it can leave the water.

Most frogs and toads abandon their eggs, so the tadpoles must look after themselves. Tadpoles have gills to breathe with, a bit like fish. They develop lungs when they become frogs.

99

About a quarter of a million!

Amphibians

Hunting

and

This four-eyed frog has fake eyes on its bottom to make it look like a big animal.

hiding

Frogs and toads eat small animals. But they also make an ideal meal for others because they have no fur, feathers, or claws. They have clever ways to avoid becoming food. Finding a meal

Defence

Frog and toad adults are meat-eaters. They have very wide mouths so they can eat quite big animals.

This toad sits and waits for animals to simply walk past it. It then opens its mouth and swallows them whole.

Frogs and toads have many defences: some use poison, some use camouflage, and others can almost fly!

Ornate horned toad

Handle with care

A sticky end Frogs and toads have sticky tongues that grab onto prey. They can shoot these out, grab the insect or small mammal, and swallow it whole! They have to blink when they swallow – their eyeballs help to push the food down the throat.

100

Some frogs, like this poison dart frog, are highly poisonous or taste disgusting when eaten. They tend to be very brightly coloured – nature’s way of warning enemies off.

European common frog

How does the European common toad defend itself?

Hunting and hiding Tree frogs have huge sticky pads on their feet that help them to grip onto trees.

ee Tr

fro g

sc an

c han

ge direction

ir. a e i n th

Leaping to safety Some tree frogs are like acrobats. This Wallace’s tree frog has webbed feet. When it feels threatened, it leaps into the air, spreads its toes, and uses them as a parachute to glide from branch to branch.

Wallace’s tree frog

Asian horned toad

Spot the toad The Asian horned toad has one of the best defences. It simply becomes invisible, using camouflage. Its body is flat, like a leaf, and exactly the same colour. Even the flaps over its eyes are leaf-shaped.

Turn and learn Defence tactics of insects: pp. 114–115

101

It stands on tiptoe and blows itself up with air, like a balloon.

Amphibians

Salamanders

and

newts

These animals may look like lizards, but they have far more in common with frogs and toads. They have smooth skin and they love the water.

Most newts and salamanders live in cool, damp forests.

Newts and salamanders have slender bodies and long tails.

They must keep their skin damp in order to breathe.

Newt or salamander? Newts and salamanders are very similar animals. However, while all newts live on land but breed in water, many salamanders spend their whole lives in the water.

This newt lives under rocks or in caves to keep its skin moist.

102

How big is the biggest salamander?

Salamanders and newts

Getting around

Meat habits

These creatures normally move slowly but they can move quickly when in danger. They crawl over land and at the bottom of ponds. Newts sometimes swim near the surface of the water.

Salamanders and newts are insectand worm-eaters who like to eat fresh prey. They find their food using smell and sight. Salamanders have long tongues that flick out to catch prey.

This North American tiger salamander can grow to 40 cm (15 in).

This Mandarin salamander is eating an earthworm.

Colourful displays Many newts and salamanders are brightly coloured. The male sometimes shows off his colours to females when looking for a mate.

Egg laying Eggs are laid in the water, and when they hatch, they look very much like frog tadpoles. Unlike frogs, however, they keep their tails when they grow up and gain legs. They live in the water until adulthood.

Great crested newt

Half-formed

These Alpine newts are performing a courtship dance.

Mexican axolotls are salamanders that have never quite changed fully into adults, but have remained half-formed. They live underwater and are sometimes kept as pets.

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The Japanese giant salamander can grow to 2 m (6 ft) long!

Creepy-crawlies

Creepy-crawlies

Black housefly

Cave spider

Lacewing

In this book, creepy-crawlies consists of all the animals that don’t belong to the other sections. All creepy-crawlies are invertebrates.

Spider wasp Common housefly Bush cricket

Red giraffe weevil

Hornet Flea

Tachinid fly

Caterpillar

Locust

Cardinal beetle Dragonfly

Giant land snail Spiny-bellied orb weaver spider

104

What group do snails belong to?

Creepy-crawlies

Picture detective Take a look through the creepy-crawly pages and see if you can spot where these pictures come from.

Golden emperor moth Large yellow underwing moth

Blue morpho butterfly

Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly

Spineless creatures Invertebrates include all the different insects, plus other small land animals, such as spiders and snails, and extraordinary-looking sea creatures.

Squid

Krill

Cuttlefish

The marine creepy-crawlies include octopuses and starfish. Starfish

Common octopus

Turn and learn Sea mammals: pp. 44-47 Sea birds: pp. 64-65

105

Snails belong to the mollusc group.

Creepy-crawlies

The world

of

insects

A huge majority of creepy-crawlies are insects. In fact, there are more types of insect in the world than any other animal. They are absolutely everywhere. Some are almost too small to see while others are surprisingly large.

Most insects have two pairs of wings.

Beetle

What is an insect?

When a pile of dung appears in Africa, dung beetles are on the scene in minutes.

You can tell if a creepycrawly is an insect because insects always have six legs. They also have three body parts – a head, a thorax, and an abdomen.

Nature’s recycling service Although many people dislike insects and they can be pests, they are also essential to our world. In fact, we could not live without them. For instance, dung beetles do a very good job cleaning up dung.

The beetles roll perfect balls of dung in which they lay a single egg. When the egg hatches, the baby eats the dung. Dung beetle

106

Apart from honey, what else does a bee produce that we can use?

The world of insects

Useful insects Here are some other ways that insects are useful to us. Red food dye: this food colouring is made from the bodies of scale insects.

Pest control Sometimes insects, such as aphids, eat huge amounts of our crops. The best way to get rid of them is to introduce another insect that likes to eat them. Ladybirds are often used for aphid pest control.

Silk: believe it or not, the silk you wear is made by silk-moth caterpillars! Aphid

Honey: if there were no bees in the world, we would have no honey.

Introducing insects that eat other insects is called biological pest control.

Food: in many cultures around the world, insects such as grubs are a nutritious meal. Ladybird

As old as an insect We know that insects existed 40 million years ago because some were trapped in a tree resin called amber, which hardened and preserved them.

Aphids breed so quickly that it is difficult to control them.

Turn and learn Beetles: pp. 120-121 Bees: pp. 122-123

107

Bees produce wax and their venom is used as medicine.

Creepy-crawlies

Egg to adult The one thing insects are very, very good at is making more insects. They all start off as eggs, then grow up in lots of strange and different ways. Metamorphosis Dragonflies have to shed their outer skin in order to grow.

When they’re born, many insects look nothing like their parents. They have to go through three stages – egg, larva, and pupa – before they become adults. This process is called metamorphosis.

Every inse s y the world la

ct i eg n gs.

Stages 1 and 2: egg and larva The butterfly lays her eggs and they hatch into larvae. The larva of a butterfly is called a caterpillar. It eats and eats enough leaves until it gets fat.

Small changes

108

Some insects are born only a little different from their parents. With dragonflies, the main difference is that their babies live completely under water; as the babies grow, they develop air tubes for breathing air, and wings for flying. Where does the word “metamorphosis” come from?

Turn and learn Butterflies: pp. 118-119 Beetles: pp. 120-121

Egg to adult The caterpillar has to find a safe place to make its pupa.

Stage 3: pupa

Stage 4: adult

When the caterpillar is big enough, it sheds its skin, fastens itself to a plant stem and creates a pupa – a hard shell – around itself.

Inside the pupa an amazing change takes place. Eventually, it splits open and the butterfly emerges.

When it’s ready, the butterfly pumps fluid around its body to help split the shell.

The butterfly must wait for its wings to flatten out and dry before it can fly away.

A pupa can remain like this for weeks or even months.

Ladybirds Like butterflies, ladybirds go through metamorphosis. Eggs: the female lays a group of eggs on a leaf. Larva: the eggs hatch out into larvae, called nymphs. Pupa: a month after hatching, each larva builds itself a pupa. Young ladybird: A week later, a yellow adult emerges. Adult: After a while the yellow colour turns to red with black spots.

White admiral butterfly

The butterfly stretches out its crumpled wings.

Parental care Most insects abandon their eggs after they have laid them. However, unlike others, shield bugs care for and fiercely protect their babies.

109

Metamorphosis is Greek for “change of body form and appearance”.

Creepy-crawlies

On the move

Other wings Here are some more ways insects use their wings. Many are very good air acrobats.

Insects are very good at moving around. Many run, others fly,  some jump, and a few even swim!

Housefly: flies only use one pair of wings. The other pair look like sticks.

Flying

Dragonfly: it uses both pairs and can operate each side separately.

All flying insects have two pairs of wings, but they use them in different ways. Beetles fly with one pair while the second, harder pair folds over the top to protect them.

In order to fly, the beetle opens out its wing cases, spreads its delicate wings, and jumps into the air.

Lacewing: this insect can use four wings separately and can fly backwards.

Cardinal beetle

Hoverfly: the hoverfly beats its wings so fast you can barely see them. Wing cases This water boatman hangs upside down beneath the surface.

The flying wings are very fragile, so the beetle needs hard cases to protect them.

Water boatman

Diving beetle

Swimming Some insects spend much of their time under water, using their legs like paddles. Diving beetles have special hairs on their legs that splay out in the water and help them swim.

Caterpillars can loop up steep twigs. 110

Which insect can run the fastest?

On the move Darkling beetles can run at 1 m (3 ft) per second.

Locust

A tiny flea can jump 100 times its own length. It can also jump 600 times per hour non-stop for three days while looking for an animal to settle on.

Darkling beetle

Running

Jumping Some insects can jump huge distances by using their back legs as powerful springs. If a grasshopper is disturbed, its catapult-like legs help it to get away.

Turn and learn

Locusts, a kind of grasshopper, can jump up to 1 m (3 ft) high.

Caterpillars pp. 108-109 Flies: pp. 126-127 These caterpillars have suckers at either end of their bodies to hold onto, and loop up, twigs.

Insects’ legs reflect where they live. Beetles that live under bark have short legs that don’t get in the way. Darkling beetles have long legs that let them race across hot sand  in the desert.

Flea

111

The green tiger beetle.

Creepy-crawlies

Eating habits

This hummingbird moth has a long tongue to suck nectar with. It feeds while it is flying.

Insects eat a wide range of foods. Some are meat-eaters and some are vegetarians, but most spend their time eating. Insects have mouthparts for either biting and chewing or piercing and sucking. Meat-eaters Many insects eat other insects and have to find cunning ways to catch their meals. This praying mantis hides among leaves and then strikes.

Vegetarians Most insects are vegetarians and munch or sip constantly during their lives. Some like to bite and chew food such as leaves; others suck liquid, such as flower nectar, through their tongues.

Antlion larva is sometimes called a “doodlebug”.

The praying mantis can sit still for a long time waiting for its meal to walk past.

Meaty meals The antlion larva buries itself underground with its open mouth facing the sky and simply waits. When an ant runs over the hole, it falls straight into the antlion’s jaws and is eaten swiftly.

112

How do hawker dragonflies catch insects?

Eating habits Caterpillars take a long time to digest food.

Treacherous teeth Caterpillars are typical vegetarian biters and chewers. They have strong jaws that can get through tough leaves. It is thought that insects eat about 5 per cent of all leaves in the world.

Turn and learn Butterflies and moths: pp. 118-119

A butterfly lays her eggs on a leaf that will be the caterpillar’s first meal – it doesn’t have to travel very far to find food.

Alligator tears A butterfly has a long tongue called a proboscis, which it uses to sip liquids. The flambeau butterfly has very strange taste in food; it likes to sip alligators’ tears. What a brave insect!

This weevil has drilled a hole in an acorn.

Acorn eater The acorn weevil only likes to eat acorns. It pierces the nut with its snout, chomps the insides using jaws at the snout’s end, and finally sucks up the chewed food.

They grab them out of the air.

Creepy-crawlies

Defence Many insects make delicious meals for other animals. So, it is very important that they have some defence against the enemy. Orchid mantis

The orchid mantis can change colour from pink to white depending on what colour flower it is on.

Turn and learn How fish defend themselves: pp. 148-149

Camouflage A good way for insects to “disappear” is to hide amongst plants. This white orchid mantis is hiding in plants that are the same colour as it is. Can you find it?

Lost among leaves This katydid, a kind of bush cricket, looks so much like a leaf that it even has veins on its back. All it has to do is keep very still. The butterfly’s “eye”

114

Which insects look exactly like brown twigs?

Defence This ladybird’s blood is seeping from its knees.

Don’t eat me! Brightly coloured insects are often poisonous or taste really nasty. The ladybird bleeds bitter-tasting blood from its knees when disturbed.

Any enemy that tries to eat this ladybird will soon spit it out – and avoid bright red insects in the future.

I’m not eating that! Swallowtail caterpillars are the ultimate in copycat defence. They look just like bird droppings. No animal is likely to want to take a bite out of them!

Owl eyes When this owl butterfly Wasp closes its wings, its spots look like eerie owl eyes instead of the markings on a tasty Copycats little butterfly. Many insects pretend they are different creatures to avoid being eaten. Can you tell the difference between the wasp and the hoverfly just by looking at them?

Hoverfly

The harmless hoverfly copies the wasp in the hope that it looks like it may have a sting.

115

Stick insects look exactly like small twigs.

Creepy-crawlies

Pests

and

plagues

Insects are small but they can do a huge amount of damage. It may be hard to believe, but these are some of the most dangerous creatures alive. Cockroaches have tough bodies and are very difficult to kill.

Unwanted guests Once cockroaches move into your home they are very difficult to get rid of. They eat rotten food and spread diseases around the house. They also make a house smell.

Some more pests Humans have a hard time controlling pests. For thousands of years, we have been trying to find ways to get rid of them. Colorado beetle: this little beetle can destroy entire potato fields. Common clothes moth: these moths love to eat woollen clothes. Longhorned beetle: these beetles can destroy entire forests.

Head lice Cockroach

Turn and learn Tiny animals that live on your body and can make you ill: pp. 140-141

The head louse is a tiny insect that grips onto your hair so tightly that it is tricky to remove. It drinks blood from your head and makes your scalp itchy. Its eggs are called nits.

Close-up of a headlouse’s claws.

What are bedbugs?

Pests and plagues

Tsetse fly

Bloodsuckers

Hungry locusts When the rains fall in Africa, millions of locusts sometimes gather together and move in huge groups, or swarms. They eat everything in sight and there are so many of them that they blot out the sunlight.

The tsetse fly is a blood sucker. It pierces the skin of humans and other animals and sucks their blood. Here you can see the fly with an empty and a full tummy. It spreads a disease called sleeping sickness. Only female mosquitoes drink your blood.

Male mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers, and juices from plants.

If a mosquito sucks blood from a sick person, it will pass the illness on to the next person it bites.

Mosquito

Keep away!

Malaria kills thousands of people every year.

Believe it or not, the mosquito has killed more people on Earth than any other animal. When it bites, it can spread a dangerous disease called malaria.

117

Bedbugs are tiny insects that suck your blood when you sleep.

Creepy-crawlies Brown brindled beauty moth

Butterflies and moths Butterflies and moths are unique insects because their wings are covered in tiny scales. They look alike but there are a few slight differences. Arctiid moth

Hartig's brahmaea moth

Which is which? Butterflies have club-shaped antennae, or feelers, and moths tend to have feathery or plain antennae. Butterflies are also generally more colourful Purple than moths.

Silk moth

This moon moth has no mouth as it only lives long enough to lay eggs, and doesn’t have time to eat before it dies.

emperor butterfly

Monarch butterfly

Red glider butterfly

Madagascan moon moth

Resting

Scaly skins

Butterflies come out by day and moths emerge at night. When moths rest they open their wings, while butterflies rest with their wings closed.

Eighty-eight butterfly Banana eater butterfly

This Millar's tiger moth has its wings open.

This peacock butterfly has its wings closed.

118

There are now no silk moths left in the wild – they are all bred to make silk.

Which is the biggest butterfly in the world?

Both butterflies and moths have tiny scales on their bodies and wings that overlap like tiles on a roof.

Butterflies and moths

Incredible migration

Tasty titbits Caterpillars can make tasty snacks for some animals, so they have cunning ways of fooling their enemies.

The monarchs are unusual butterflies. When the cold winter sets in they undertake an incredible journey. They travel from Canada to the fine weather in California, USA, and Mexico, and can cover 130 km (80 miles) Ant en n in a day.

ae are use d

for

Caterpillars spend most of their time eating.

Puss moth caterpillar: it rears its colourful head when threatened.

sm ell in

Trees are often covered in monarch butterflies as they rest.

g.

Postman caterpillar: it is covered in long spines.

Eating Butterflies and moths hatch as caterpillars, which eat in a completely different way to the adults.

Hungry caterpillar Caterpillars have strong jaws, which they use to chew leaves. When they become butterflies their mouthparts are different – instead they have a long tongue, or proboscis, which they use to sip liquid.

Elephant hawk-moth caterpillar: it can change the shape of its body to look like a snake.

Tongue, or proboscis

Turn and learn How caterpillars change into butterflies: pp. 108-109

Butterflies keep their tongues rolled into a coil until they want to eat. They then unroll it and use it like a straw.

The Queen Alexandra’s birdwing butterfly.

Creepy-crawlies

Beetles and bugs These amazing creatures can be found all over the world, from mountain tops to scorching deserts.

Beetles Beetles are the most heavily armoured of all  insects. They have biting and chewing mouthparts.

The African Goliath beetle is the biggest beetle in the world.

The diving beetle uses its legs as paddles.

Beetles Beetles are often bright and colourful. Scarab: this beautiful golden scarab is found in South America.

Diving beetles Most beetles live on land, but the diving beetle catches its food – tadpoles and even small fish – in the water. In order to breathe it tucks a bubble of air under its wings before every dive.

120

How do most bugs taste their food?

Chafer beetle: these lovely beetles vary hugely in size and colour. Weevil: this bright blue weevil is found in Papua New Guinea. Frog beetle: frog beetles have colourful bodies with a metallic, shiny look.

Beetles and bugs

Glow in the dark Glowworms are not worms, they are beetles. They have a special organ in their bodies that lights up in the dark. They flash their bodies at night to communicate with each other.

Glowworms can sometimes be seen at night glowing and flashing in their thousands.

Glowworms are found all over the world.

Bugs Members of the bug family look quite like beetles, but they have a feeding tube that pierces and sucks up their food. They cannot bite and chew.

Clicking cicadas

Bugs They are small, but some can be quite aggressive! Shield bug: it is known as the “stink bug” because it can let out a foul smell.

Aphid: this little creature is a pest. It attacks garden plants. Assassin bug: it kills other insects and sucks their insides out.

ird or what e w

?

Coreid bug: this bug waves the flaps on its legs to scare predators.

Cicadas, a type of bug, are the noisiest of insects. They can be heard up to 1.5 km (1 mile) away. They make their noise by vibrating drum-like pads on the side of their tummies.

The deathwatch beetle eats through wood. When it wants to attract another beetle’s attention, it bangs its head against the wood. Sometimes people hear the tapping in their houses.

Some cicada species can live for up to 17 years!

121

Most bugs taste their food through their feet.

Creepy-crawlies

Bees

and

wasps

You may think bees and wasps simply buzz a lot and sting, but they are actually some of the most intelligent insects around.

Class system Bee societies have three classes within their colony. Queen: each bee colony has a queen who lays up to 100 eggs a day. Drone: there are only ever a few drones – males – with the queen. Worker: all of the workers are female. They collect the nectar. The bee has special baskets on its legs to collect pollen in.

Bees Bumblebees and honeybees live in large colonies, working together as a group. Worker bees spend much of their lives gathering nectar from plants, which they turn into honey.

Worker bees cannot lay eggs. Only the queen provides new babies.

Bumblebees do not produce large amounts of honey. Honey is  their food.

?

d or what r i we

When a honeybee  knows that a flower is full of nectar, it does a special waggling dance to show other worker bees where to go to collect it.

122

Comb A honeybee’s home is a miniature city made of wax, produced by the bees, in cell shapes. This is called a honeycomb. Some cells hold a baby larva and some hold honey.

True or false: honeybees die immediately after they sting.

Bees and wasps

Nests Wasps either live alone (solitary wasps) or in large groups (social wasps). Those that live together build large nests made out of dead wood that they chew into paper. Bees and wasps have powerful biting mouthparts.

Common wasp

The queen begins building the nest until her first babies are big enough, after which they take over.

Wasps The wasps chew and chew dead wood until it becomes pulpy. It then dries into paper.

There are many different families of wasps. Most adults have a narrow waist between their second and third segments, and large eyes.

Stings

Living alone

Wasps and bees have yellow and black stripes that warn people they are venomous. They only sting when they feel threatened or they are defending their home.

Many wasps do not live in groups, but prefer to live alone. They are called solitary wasps. They are mostly parasitic, laying their eggs on other insects.

Sting

Ichneumon wasp (solitary)

Moving in swarms When a new queen is born, she will leave with a group of wasps to build and rule her own nest. The wasps all fly off together in a group called a swarm. In this picture they are resting.

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True, they can only ever sting once.

Creepy-crawlies

Ants and termites There are more termites and ants on Earth than any other type of insect – there are trillions of them! They live in groups called colonies. Ant

Termites Termites live in hot, tropical areas. Each colony has a queen who is the chief and she has a king. Workers clean and feed, and soldiers guard.

Ants There are many different types of ant, one or more living in almost every part of the world. These are leaf-cutter ants, which collect leaves and turn them into food.

Termite soldiers

The fierce termite soldiers have big jaws to bite anything that disturbs their queen or their home.

Termite mounds Some termites live in huge mounds, which they build using earth, saliva, and their droppings – one piece on top of another, like bricks. Some mounds can be up to 7 m (25 ft) high.

In some species, the queen grows into a huge egg-laying machine, producing 30,000 eggs in a day!

Inside the mound The walls of termite mounds are so hard that you would need a pickaxe to get into them!

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Each termite mound contains a huge network of rooms and passages. The queen and her eggs stay in the nursery, which is located in the centre.

Which ants live in colonies of up to 300,000 individuals?

Working together Some ants and aphids – a type of bug – are very good at keeping each other happy. The aphids give off a sweet liquid that the ants like to sip, so in return the ants guard the aphids and protect their eggs for them.

Ants and aphids often live on trees together.

Turn and learn Aphids and other bugs: pp. 120-121

There are 12,000 different kinds of ant in the world.

Living larder Honeypot ants live in the desert. The workers fill chosen ants with nectar, which they turn to honey and store in their big tummies. When food is short they vomit it up and feed the colony with it. The honeypots are too big to move.

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Wood ants live in these enormous colonies.

Creepy-crawlies

Disease carriers

Flies There’s no escaping them – flies are all over the place. Lots of people hate them because many spread diseases and a lot of them bite. But flies have their uses and we couldn’t live without them.

Flies like rotting food and their sticky feet can carry bacteria from one piece of food to another, which can spread nasty diseases.

Housefly

A fly vomits on food to turn it to liquid, and then sucks it up.

A fly uses special mouthparts to suck up food.

Fly babies

Maggots

Flies often lay their eggs, which hatch into maggots, in manure or rubbish. Unlike adults, maggots do not have wings and they chew rotten food rather than suck it up. They eventually turn into pupas, then flies, just like caterpillars turn into butterflies or moths.

Flight Flies are very good flyers, which is why they are difficult to swat. This hoverfly can beat its wings up to 1,000 times per second! Sometimes it changes direction so quickly that it seems to disappear.

Turn and learn Other pests: pp. 116-117 Metamorphosis pp. 108-109

126

Where do mosquitoes lay their eggs?

Flies

Sticky feet The housefly has sticky feet that allow it to walk up walls and across ceilings. It rubs its feet together to get dust and dirt off, which helps keep them sticky.

Fly collection There are many species of fly and they come in all shapes and colours. Tachinid fly: these flies are small, bristly, and often brilliantly coloured.

A fly’s uses If there were no flies in the world, there would be a lot more rotting food and dead animals around. Although we may think they are nasty, they actually do a very good job eating rubbish.

Crane fly: this fly is better known as daddy-long-legs. Robber fly: this fly has extraordinary, feathery back legs. Bee fly: these little flies look like bees and are quite stout and very hairy.

A fly has compund eyes, which means it sees the world in the form of thousands of tiny images that merge into one big picture.

Bluebottle fly

Flies have fine hairs on their legs that can sense tiny movements.

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Mosquitoes lay their eggs in still water, which is why they often live near ponds.

Creepy-crawlies

Other creepy-crawlies There are many creepy-crawlies scuttling around our planet that are not insects. Some live on land, others live in fresh water or the sea. They come in all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. The worm family Arachnids Spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites belong to a land-dwelling family called arachnids. All arachnids have eight legs and two body parts.

Tarantula

Segmented worms, such as earthworms, are simple animals that have a head at one end, a tail at the other, and lots of segmented body parts in between. They live on land or in water. Despite their reputation, most spiders are harmless to humans. A tarantula has hairs on its legs that can cause irritation to humans. When the spider is annoyed, it flicks them out at the enemy.

Turn and learn Spiders and scorpions: pp. 130-131

128

How big can spiders grow?

Other creepy-crawlies

Molluscs

Odd sea creatures The sea contains some very strange animals. Here are a few:

Slugs, snails, squid, and oysters are molluscs. Some live on land and some live in water.

Snail

Sponge: these animals were once thought to be plants. Starfish: most starfish have five arms to crawl across the sea floor.

Snails are found on land and in the sea.

Anemone: these flower-like sea animals have no brains.

The octopus, which is also a mollusc, is a very intelligent creature.

Centipede Centipedes have one pair of legs on each segment and millipedes have two pairs on each.

Millipede

Centipedes and millipedes

Crustaceans

If you try counting the legs on an insect and you find there are too many, the chances are you have found a centipede or millipede. They have lots and lots of legs.

Most crustaceans, such as lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, live in water. Only woodlice live on land. They often have a shell and their eyes are on stalks.

Lobster

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Some spiders can grow as big as dinner plates!

Creepy-crawlies

Spiders

and

scorpions

Spiders and scorpions are the best-known members of the arachnid family. They are two of the most feared creatures on Earth, despite the fact that most do not attack humans. Of all spiders, jumpers have the best eyesight.

Spiders There are about 40,000 species of spider in the world. They can all bite, but most are not dangerous to humans.

This is the silk line that the jumping spider attaches to something before it jumps.

Th ts a o p s e jumping spider

Jumping spider

hed to a line of silk c a t , , at s p lea d n fly a

Scorpions

Ticks are so small that you can barely see them.

Scorpions live in warm climates and feed on insects. A scorpion holds its prey with its big pincers and paralyses it with the sting on the end of its tail, which it bends right over its back.

This jungle scorpion is carrying her babies on her back until they can look after themselves.

Sting

Scorpion

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Bloodsucking ticks A tick is also an arachnid. When it feeds, it attaches itself to an animal and bites the flesh. When it has drunk enough blood, it drops off.

Some scorpions grow to lengths of 15 cm (6 in).

How many eyes do spiders have?

Spiders and scorpions

Webs All spiders produce silk from inside their abdomen. Most weave nests or webs with it, while jumping spiders use it to anchor themselves to one object while they leap to another.

so

qu

Spiders build their webs and wait patiently for insects to fly into them. They then wrap the insects in jackets of silk, and eat them.

ick

t ly

Water spiders even make underwater webs that keep an air bubble in place.

Water spiders

ly ef t th ha

Most spiders live on land but a few, such as the water spider, live underwater. To breathe, it traps air inside a bubble, which it anchors to plants.

do

Most spiders remain with their eggs, looking after them until they have hatched.

Turn and learn

es

n’ th

av ea

ch a n

ce to escape.

Eggs and babies

Bloodsuckers: pp. 116-117 Vampire bats: pp. 30-31

Spider’s silk is also used to  build nests or to attach eggs to the spider to carry around. This spider, however, holds the eggs in her jaws until they hatch. Most spiders have eight eyes!

Egg sac

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Creepy-crawlies

Strange land creatures There are lots of interesting creepy-crawlies living in the undergrowth. Some are large, others small, some have lots of legs, and some no legs at all. The shell of the

Snails One of the slowest movers on land is the snail. When it feels threatened it doesn’t have to rely on speed; it simply pulls itself inside its shell.

snail is attached to its back.

Snail A garden snail’s shell always coils in a clockwise direction.

Giant tiger centipede

Centipedes The word centipede means “100 feet”, but actually centipedes have a lot fewer. Giant tiger centipedes are found in jungles. They eat spiders and insects, which they kill with venom.

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How big is the biggest snail in the world?

Strange land creatures

When pill woodlice are frightened, they curl up into tight balls.

Woodlice Woodlice may look like insects but they are actually related to crabs and lobsters. They live in dark, damp places to avoid drying up and eat rotten leaves and wood.

Earthworms

Slugs and snails have one muscly foot that they use to walk around on.

Earthworms are long, thin creatures that live underground. They push their way through the soil eating rotting plants and animals.

Slug

Some millipedes roll into balls if they sense danger.

Slimy slugs

Millipedes Millipedes have lots of legs – sometimes as many as 300! But this does not mean they run fast. They have to move their legs in waves to stop them from hitting each other.

Slugs are similar to snails but they have no shell. They move by sliding over slime that they squeeze out through their foot. Sometimes they leave a shiny trail behind them.

Slugs spend the day hiding and feed at night.

Turn and learn A leech is a type of worm that sucks blood from animals.

Sea slugs and sea snails: pp. 136-137

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The Giant African snail can grow to the size of your forearm.

Creepy-crawlies

Sea crustaceans It’s easy to see how these creatures got their name – they are covered in hard plates that act like a crust. Most crustaceans live in water. Crusty creatures The lobster, like other crustaceans, has a hard skeleton on the outside of its body and two eyes on stalks, called antennae. Lobsters spend their time walking across the sea floor.

Crabs Crabs are armed with a pair of pincers that can nip very hard when they feel threatened. They live on the seashore as well as the sea bed.

The crab’s eyes are at the end of these stalks.

Crabs use their pincers to crack the shells of other animals and to pick up food.

Fiddler crab

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Which crustacean lives permanently on land?

Sea crustaceans

Barnacles On many seashores, millions of barnacles cling to rocks. They start life as tiny larvae; when they settle on a rock they fasten themselves to it, grow a hard case around themselves and stay there for life.

Cleaning up Some shrimps get their food in a very unusual way – by cleaning the mouths and scales of willing fish. They use their delicate pincers to pick out dead skin and tiny creatures.

Red crab alert! Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean has a community of about 100 million red crabs. Each year at the same time every single crab crosses the island to lay its eggs on the beach. What a traffic jam!

Fleshy brown barnacles

The crabs start walking when the rains come to the island.

This type of barnacle has wavy legs that catch food in the water.

Finding a home Hermit crabs have softer bodies than other crabs, so to protect themselves they hunt for empty shells to live in. Often the crabs fight for a good shell.

Hermit crabs

Turn and learn Land crustaceans: p. 133

135

You are more likely to see woodlice in the garden than on the seashore.

Creepy-crawlies

Sea molluscs

Sea molluscs come in many weird and wonderful shapes. Who would have thought that octopuses and scallops were related? Some live on land, others live in water.

Clever clogs Octopuses and squid have large brains and are very intelligent. All octopuses and squids have eight arms.

Octopus

Meet the family Squid and cuttlefish are the nearest relatives to octopuses. Blue-ringed octopus: this octopus can change colour and has a deadly venom. Cuttlefish: these molluscs have eight short arms and two longer tentacles.

This octopus has a crab in its jaws.

Squid: squid are torpedo shaped and can swim very fast indeed.

The ink can also numb the enemy, stopping it from chasing the octopus or squid further.

Turn and learn Reptiles with shells: pp. 84-85 Land slugs: pp. 132-133

136

Ink squirting When octopuses and squid feel threatened by another sea creature, they squirt ink out of their bodies to confuse it and act like a smoke screen.

Do octopuses have teeth?

Sea molluscs

Sea snails

Sea slugs

Conches, whelks, and winkles are all sea snails. They have shells and can commonly be seen clinging to rocks. Most eat plants, but some eat other small sea creatures.

Strangely enough, some slugs live under water. Like their cousins, they have no shells for protection. Some are poisonous, while others camouflage themselves from predators, such as this lettuce slug.

Limpets Limpets have cone-shaped shells that protect them. They cling to rocks and graze on algae, a type of plant, wandering around using their muscular foot.

Whelk

Each arm is lined with suckers to help it grip to rocks and its prey. Limpets have been grazing on this rock – you can see the trails they have made.

Limpets can often be seen in clusters on rocks. Limpet

Two-hinged shells

Quick scallop

Oysters, mussels, scallops, and clams all have a shell that is hinged into two parts that can open and close. They open them to suck food in and breathe, and keep them tightly shut to protect themselves.

Queen scallops can move surprisingly quickly through the water. They clap the two parts of their shell together and this movement propels them forwards.

Giant clam The black dots around the shell are eyes. Queen scallop

137

No, but they have sharp beaks.

Creepy-crawlies

Brainless wonders The are a lot of very strange sea creatures. Some don’t even look like animals at all. The one thing all the animals on these pages have in common is that they have no brains.

The coral reef Believe it or not, coral is an animal, or rather, lots of tiny animals – called polyps – stuck together. They create hard outer skeletons that form their home and give coral its hard ridges.

Some sponges can grow so big that divers can swim inside them.

Sponges Sponges look like plants but are actually animals, even though they are attached to the seabed. The bright colours often make the seafloor look like an underwater garden.

Sea urchin This spiky creature may look harmless but you wouldn’t want to step on one. Sea urchins are covered in sharp spines that protect their soft bodies.

Turn and learn

Sea urchins Sea urchins have tube-shaped feet and can walk across the seafloor.

Venomous sea creatures: pp. 148-149

138

Which is the most venomous creature in the sea?

Brainless wonders

Jellyfish

Starfish Most starfish have five arms that stick out from the centre. They have some strange-looking relations too. Starfish: almost all starfish look like this one, with five arms.

A jellyfish is an unusual creature – it has no brain, no bones, and no heart! It moves through the water like a big umbrella, opening and closing to move along.

Jellyfish

Sunstar starfish: this starfish is unusual – it has 12 arms. Grey starfish: this starfish has red nodules all over it. The jelly-like body is called the bell and its stomach is underneath it.

Brittlestar: it has longer arms than a starfish and moves more easily. Sea cucumber: this starfish cousin has 8 to 30 feet around its mouth.

The tentacles of the box jellyfish act like fishing lines to catch food.

Sea anemones This starfish is eating a mussel.

The starfish pushes its stomach through its mouth and into the shell to eat it.

Sea anemones look like pretty sea flowers, but they can give lethal stings to small animals. They use their venomous tentacles to stun fish before they eat them.

Eating habits The mouth of a starfish is underneath its body. It uses its arms to crack open mussel shells, then eats up the creature inside.

Dahlia anemones

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The box jellyfish is the most venomous thing in the sea.

Creepy-crawlies

The world

of

microlife

Some creepy-crawlies, whether insects or other tiny creatures, are so small that you can’t see them unless you look through a microscope. They are everywhere, however – even in your eyelashes!

Some plankton are as big as your fingernail, others are too small to see.

Unwelcome guests Tiny animals like to share our body with us. Some are helpful guests but others we would rather get rid of, like this head louse.

Head louse

Eyelash mite

Eyelash mites Like everyone else in the world, you have had tiny mites living on your eyelashes since you were a baby. They are harmless but can make your eyes itch a little.

Turn and learn Pests and plagues: pp. 116-117

140

Head lice make your scalp itch.

How many dust mites could you fit in one bed?

Some of these tiny bacteria give you a very sick tummy.

The world of microlife

Sea microlife

A lot of plankton, like this larva, are the babies of many kinds of sea creatures.

The sea is full of plankton, a group of different microscopic creatures. There are so many of them that the sea is like a big, thick plankton soup. Many fish eat plankton and still there are plenty more.

Plankton

Some huge whales eat only tiny plankton.

Bacteria There are about 300 types of bacteria that live on your teeth! Although they are technically not animals, they are some of the smallest creatures alive. This is the tip of a needle (magnified many times) and the tiny orange specks are bacteria. Some of them can make you ill, but most are friendly.

House dust mites These ferocious-looking creatures are so small that you can’t see them. But they are all around you. Dust mites live in your home and love to eat the dead, flaky skin that you shed around the house. Some people are allergic to them.

House dust mite

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Your bed already has about 1 million of them in it!

Fish

Fish

Zebrafish

Fish truly dominate the waters of the world. They come in many shapes and sizes, from huge whale sharks to strange seahorses and fish so tiny you can barely see them. Yellow tang

Long-nosed gar Cuban hogfish Royal gramma

Zebra pipefish

Golden-eyed dwarf cichlids

Emperor angelfish

Thornback ray

Sticklebacks

Three-striped dwarf cichlids Clown triggerfish

Boxfish

142

How many different species of fish can be found on Earth?

Fish

Copperband butterfly fish

John Dory

Picture detective Take a look through the fish section and see if you can spot the owners of these colourful skins. Yellow wrasse

Ram cichlid

Goldfish Seahorse

Bony fish Most fish are bony, which means they have a hard skeleton inside them. Sharks are not bony fish, but have a skeleton made of cartilage – a material that is softer than bone.

Turn and learn Seahorse: p. 151 Sharks: pp. 152-153

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There are about 32,800 species of fish in seas, rivers, and lakes.

Fish

The world

of

fish

Fish have been around for 400 million years! They live in seas, rivers, and lakes. Wherever you find water, you can bet there are plenty of fish swimming around.

Types of fish There are over 30,000 types of fish, which fall into three groups. Bony fish: 95 per cent of the fish in the world are bony fish with hard skeletons. Cartilaginous fish: rays, skates, and sharks make up this group. Jawless fish: only hagfish and lampreys fall into this small group.

Pyjama cardinalfish

Bony fish have a skeleton with a skull, ribs, and a backbone.

Fish skin, made up of scales, is slimy to let them slip through water easily.

Fish have fins that keep them upright when they swim. The tail of a fish sweeps from side to side to push the fish forwards.

Mudskipper

The gills lie behind the eyes.

Gills Like other animals, fish need to take in oxygen in order to live. But, unlike us, they can breathe underwater using their gills. Fish gulp in water and their gills filter the oxygen out of it.

Fish out of water

144

Mudskippers are one of the few kinds of fish that can survive out of water. They have special gills that take oxygen from air or water. They skip along mudflats using their fins as elbows. Which fish is the slowest in the sea?

The world of fish

The art of swimming Many fish swim like snakes slide – they wriggle in an “s” shape. Their whole bodies move from side to side and their tails flick to push them forwards. Their fins help to steer them.

Scales Most fish are covered in hundreds of scales that overlap like roof tiles. Tiny animals can get under the scales and harm them, so fish let others give them a regular clean. Mandarin fish

Colours can be used for camouflage or to attract a mate.

Some fish can turn on their sides and roll right over. A few can even swim upside down! Carp

Colour Fish come in all colours and patterns. Freshwater fish and those living in cooler waters tend to be duller in colour. Tropical fish are sometimes incredibly bright and beautiful. Eels are found in fresh water and sea water.

Fishy features

Living together Fish sometimes live in huge groups called shoals. When so many swim together they look like one big fish so they are less likely to be attacked.

Most fish look like the pyjama cardinalfish on the left. Some however have a different appearance. This eel looks more like a snake with fins. Like a snake, it has sharp teeth.

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The seahorse is the slowest fish that lives in the sea.

Fish

Finding food Most fish are meat-eaters, which means everyone is eating everyone in the water. It’s a very dangerous place! Electric eel This eel has three electric organs in its body. It catches prey by giving them electric shocks. These can stun or kill a fish and send a human to the hospital!

Fish eat fish The sea is one great big food chain. Tiny plankton are eaten by small fish and big fish eat the smaller ones. Plankton: plankton contains tiny creatures that live near the surface. Herring: small fish like herring like to eat the tiny plankton. Salmon: larger fish, such as salmon, eat the smaller fish, and they get eaten by sharks!

Catching prey Some fish, such as the pike, lie in wait for their meal to swim past. Others are active hunters who chase fast-moving fish through the water.

Parrot fish Parrot fish have a “beak” like a parrot’s, which is made from teeth. They use it to gnaw at the coral they eat.

Pike

146

Which fish has extra teeth?

Finding food Fish are attracted to the glowing bait that sits right by its mouth.

The angler fish

Archerfish can snap insects out of the air.

A deepwater angler does what fishermen do. Attached to its head is a glowing “rod and bait” that attracts small fish. When one of them gets close, it gets gobbled up!

Turn and learn Ultimate meat-eaters of the sea – sharks: pp. 152-153

Archerfish

An experienced adult can shoot out a stem of water four times its own length.

Archerfish Most fish feed in water, but a few can catch food out of water too. The archerfish shoots water at insects, making them fall into the water, and then eats them. It can also leap into the air and pick insects off branches.

Piranhas Piranhas have a fearsome reputation. Their razor-sharp teeth can strip the flesh from animals in minutes. Piranhas eat fruit and seeds as well as animals. Piranhas work in groups to tear creatures to pieces.

Piranhas

It is extremely dangerous for animals, humans included, to swim in water filled with piranhas.

147

The deep-sea viperfish has extra teeth in its throat to help push its food down.

Fish

Staying alive So many water creatures feed on fish, that they all have to be careful – or very cunning – to make sure they don’t get eaten.

Porcupine fish

The flat porcupine fish usually looks like any other fish in the tropical seas.

Ballooning up The porcupine fish seems harmless until it is alarmed. It then gulps in water to blow itself up, which pushes out its spines, making it impossible to swallow.

Safety in numbers Fish that live in shoals, or groups, are far safer in large numbers. They all keep an eye out for enemies and will sometimes split into two groups to confuse them.

Camouflage Many fish use camouflage to hide. Flatfish, such as this plaice, bury themselves on the sea floor, then change their colour to blend into the sand and the stones.

148

What is the most poisonous fish in the world for a human to eat?

Staying alive The bright stripes on a lionfish warn other creatures off: the venom in its fins can be deadly.

The con artist The twinspot wrasse tries to fool its enemies. There are two big spots on its body that look like eyes. It buries itself in the sand and just shows the spots, making it look like a large, frightening fish.

Twinspot wrasse

Lionfish

Friend or foe? These clownfish use venomous sea anemones for protection; the venom doesn’t seem to affect the fish, who dive in when danger approaches.

Venom The bright colouring of some venomous fish tells the predators that they would not make a tasty meal. This spiky lionfish is one of the most venomous fish in the sea.

Clownfish

Turn and learn Insect defence: pp. 114-115

Hidey holes Garden eels dig holes in the sand. During the day they hang out looking like a field of sea grass catching small fish. When threatened they dive back into their holes. The pufferfish.

Fish

Making more fish Most fish don’t make very good parents – they lay their eggs in the water and abandon them, leaving their young to fend for themselves. Some, however, do stick around. Baby sticklebacks

Courting Some male fish make more of an effort to attract a female than others. The male stickleback builds a nest, then his tummy turns red to attract a female.

Millions of eggs Most fish lay eggs. Perch, like many other fish, lay an enormous number in the hope that some will hatch out. A lot of other fish like to eat the eggs, so most will be lost.

A good father The bullhead male is a keen parent. The female lays only a few hundred eggs and the male guards them fiercely until they hatch.

The male stickleback guards his eggs until they hatch.

Hatching out Most fish hatch into tiny larvae – fish that are not fully formed. They gradually grow a skeleton, fins, and organs. At this small stage they can’t protect themselves easily.

Which fish lays the most eggs?

Making more fish When the male wants to eat, he spits the eggs out.

Turn and learn Other animals that lay eggs in the water: pp. 98-99

The ultimate protection The yellowhead jawfish father has a foolproof way to protect his eggs. After the female has laid them, he keeps them inside his mouth until they hatch. The father seahorse keeps the babies inside his pouch until they can defend themselves.

Seahorses

Seahorses

A seahorse keeps itself in one position by wrapping its tail around a plant.

The seahorse is very unusual indeed – the female lays the eggs inside a pouch on the male’s tummy and then the male gives birth to the babies!

The incredible journey Some fish have a special place where they lay their eggs. The salmon lives in the sea but travels as far as 1,500 km (1,000 miles) up rivers to lay its eggs in the same place it was born. It even swims up waterfalls to get there.

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The ocean sunfish can lay a staggering 30 million eggs in one go.

Fish

Shark types There are many different types of sharks. Some look very different to the common torpedo shape. Leopard shark: it has golden spotted skin that camouflages it well. Saw shark: its long nose has razor-sharp teeth down it, like a saw. Hammerhead: this shark has a rectangular head with eyes at each end. Wobbegong: it has weedy flaps around its nose for camouflage.

Sharks

and

rays

A shark’s fin poking out of the water is enough to send a chill down your spine. But they also fill fish with fear – sharks are the largest and most successful meat-eaters in the sea. Bendy bones Sharks and rays do not have bones. Instead their skeleton is made of soft, bendy cartilage – the same stuff that’s in your nose and ears. Black-tipped reef shark

Many people think that great whites are the most dangerous animals in the sea, but they rarely attack humans.

Born in a purse

Great white shark

Egg case

Empty egg cases are known as mermaid’s purses.

Some sharks start life as a tiny adult in an egg case, which looks a bit like a handbag. This case is attached to seaweed and the baby shark grows inside for about six to nine months.

A lethal smile The massive jaws of the great white shark contain a terrifying set of sharp teeth, which often fall out as they tear flesh. A shark may lose 30,000 teeth in a lifetime. They are, however, always replaced with new sharp ones.

What is the largest fish in the world?

Sharks and rays

The gentle giant Although all sharks eat meat, not all of them eat big prey. This basking shark is an underwater giant but eats only the tiniest creatures. It gulps huge amounts of water and filters tiny animal plankton from it.

Rays’ mouths are underneath their bodies. They have very strong teeth to crush shells with.

Rays swim by flapping their side fins just like wings.

Rays Rays are sharks’ cousins, but unlike their relatives, they are flat, and live mostly on the seabed, in shallow, warm water.

Turn and learn Spotted ray

Large sea animals that feed by filtering tiny animals: pp. 46-47

Spot the eyes Most rays are coloured to match the seabed, but they also bury into the sand for extra camouflage. Blue spotted stingrays bury themselves with just their eyes showing when they rest.

Some rays, such as stingrays, have spines on their tails that can sting a predator.

Monster of the deep The manta ray is the monster in the family, sometimes stretching 6 m (20 ft) across – that’s almost the length of a bus! Some swim in small shoals, but most live alone.

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The whale shark is the biggest fish in the world.

Reference section

Amazing animal facts The mosquito is the most dangerous animal on Earth to humans. It carries deadly diseases such as malaria. Malaria kills up to 2 million people every year.

Mammals The mammal section includes the largest, loudest, and tallest animals in the world. Largest land animal: the African bush elephant is the largest land animal. Smallest land mammal: the pygmy white-toothed shrew is the smallest land mammal in the world.

154

Birds The bird section contains the incredible record breakers of the flying world. Largest wingspan: the wandering albatross has a wingspan of 3 m (11 ft). Smallest bird: the tiniest bird is the bee hummingbird.

Loudest land animal: the loudest land animal is the howler monkey.

Fastest diver: the fastest air diver is the peregrine falcon.

Tallest animal: the tallest animal on Earth is the giraffe.

Largest bird: the largest bird in the world is the ostrich.

Reptiles and amphibians This section can claim the oldest animals in the world, and some of the most venomous too. Largest reptile: the saltwater crocodile can be up to 7 m (23 ft) long. Oldest reptile: there has been one tortoise who lived for 150 years! Deadliest snake: the carpet viper is responsible for the most human deaths. Largest toad: the cane toad would sit happily on a dinner plate – and fill it. Largest amphibian: the giant salamander is as big as an average man.

i The cheetah

What is the rarest large land mammal in the world?

.. . e s th

Amazing animal facts

Creepy-crawlies The creepy-crawly section contains some of the most extraordinary-looking animals on Earth. Largest moth: The atlas moth is often mistaken for a bird. It is 30 cm (12 in) wide. Biggest eye: the giant squid has the largest eye of any living animal. Largest spider: the Goliath bird-eating spider would easily cover a plate. Most legs: the animal with the most legs is the millipede – some have 750!

This sloth has an average ground speed of 2 m (6½ ft) per minute. But in the trees it can double that speed.

Fish Fish dominate the water world – and the majority of the Earth is covered in water. Most fish eggs: the ocean sunfish can lay 30 million eggs at one spawning. Largest fish: the whale shark is the largest fish in the world. Largest freshwater fish: the European catfish is the largest freshwater fish.

Prickliest fish: as well as spines, porcupine fish also have sharp teeth. Fastest fish: the sailfish can swim faster than the cheetah can run (see below).

g animal on Ear n i n n th. u st-r Cheetahs run amazingly fast. When they are chasing prey on level ground, they can reach speeds of over 100 kph (62 mph) in short bursts.

The Javan rhinoceros, of which there are fewer than 60 left.

..

te s a .f

The three-toed sloth of South America is the slowest mammal on Earth.

155

Reference section 2 Sna

kes use

True or false?

their tongues to smell.

Can you work out which of these facts are real, and which ones are completely made up?

largest s the i b r n bea r.

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3 M o

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156 5. False – it is the tallest 6. True 7. False – the males have the pouch 8. True

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157

Answers: 1. False – it is the polar bear 2. True 3. False – most live in the Antarctic 4. True

Reference section

Quiz

5

Test your knowledge of animals with these tricky quiz questions.

1

2

3

What is a group of lions called? A: Troop

B: Pride

C: Clan

D: Pack

6

158

A: Africa

B: North America

C: South America

D: Asia

What are vultures famous for?

How many pairs of legs does an insect have? A: 2

B: 3

C: 4

D: 5

What type of bear is this?

7

4

Where do tigers live?

A: American black

B: Spectacled

C: Sun

D: Brown

A: Digging

B: Growling

C: Scavenging

D: Dancing

Snakes don’t have...

Which member of the parrot family cannot fly? A: Pileated parrot

B: Kakapo

A: Teeth

B: Tongues

C: Blue lorikeet

D: Brown lory

C: Eyelids

D: Nostrils

Quiz 8

9

How many legs does an octopus have?

A: 6

B: 7

C: 8

D: 9

13 How long have fish lived on Earth?

Mammals that carry their young in pouches are called... A: Marsupials

B: Primates

A: 200 million years

B: 300 million years

C: Monotremes

D: Rodents

C: 400 million years

D: 500 million years

10 How many toes do ostriches have on each foot? A: 2

B: 3

C: 1

D: 5

14 A juvenile frog is called a...

11 What is the loudest land animal on Earth? A: Nymph

B: Tadpole

C: Maggot

D: Kitten

15 How long can a hippo hold its breath? A: 2 minutes

B: 3 minutes

C: 4 minutes

D: 5 minutes

16 I am the world’s largest fish. What am I? A: Howler monkey

B: Gorilla

A: Sunfish

B: Basking shark

C: Orang-utan

D: Baboon

C: Manta ray

D: Whale shark

12 I am an arachnid. What could I be?

17 Which bird has the longest wingspan?

A: Frog

B: Spider

A: Albatross

B: Golden eagle

C: Crab

D: Insect

C: Ostrich

D: Andean condor

159

Answers. 1:B 2:B 3:D 4:B 5:D 6:C 7:C 8:C 9:A 10:A 11:A 12:B 13:C 14:B 15:D 16:D 17:A

Reference section

Who am I? Can you work out which animal is being talked about from the clue?

2: I am one of the only animals to use tools. Orang-utan

Great blue heron

Flamingo

Pileated gibbon

1: My feathers are dyed pink by the shrimps I eat. Marabou stork

Komodo dragon

Painted stork

Grey crowned crane

160

Green iguana

Who am I?

Flea Gorilla

Praying mantis

3: I can jump 100 times my own length.

Stag beetle

Lionfish Chimpanzee

Clownfish

5: I hide among poisonous sea anemones to protect myself from predators.

Australian frilled lizard Turquoise dwarf gecko

4: I am the largest lizard in the world. Veiled chameleon Porcupine fish

161

Answers. 1: Flamingo 2: Chimpanzee 3: Flea 4: Komodo dragon 5: Clownfish

Reference section 2: This animal, which lives in the Arctic Circle, can hold its breath for up to two minutes underwater.

1: Every winter this animal travels all the way from cold Canada to warm Mexico.

8: This Amazonian animal is brightly coloured to warn off predators.

Where in the world?

Great white shark

Polar bear

Tuatara

7: Great white shark 8: Poison dart frog 9: Penguin 10: Crocodile 11: Koala 12: Tuatara

162

Barn owl

5: This North African animal has two toes that are widely spaced for walking on sand.

9: This Antarctic animal is specially camouflaged to make it hard to see underwater.

Discover where each animal lives by matching the descriptions with the pictures.

Camel

3: This European animal uses its amazing eyesight and hearing to hunt at night.

Koala

Where in the world?

4: This Asian animal eats bamboo shoots.

7: This underwater hunter may lose 30,000 teeth in a lifetime. 6: This Asian animal hides from predators amongst plants. 10: This African animal hunts animals that come down to the water’s edge to drink.

Crocodile

12: This New Zealand animal can live for more than 100 years. 11: This Australian animal eats eucalyptus leaves and sleeps for up to 19 hours a day.

Giant panda

Monarch butterfly

Orchid mantis

Penguin

Poison dart frog

163

Answers. 1: Monarch butterfly 2: Polar bear 3: Barn owl 4: Giant panda 5: Camel 6: Orchid mantis

Reference section

Glossary abdomen Rear part of the body of an insect, spider, or crustacean amphibian Animal that can live in and out of water antennae Pair of long, thin feelers on the heads of insects and some non-insects arachnid Animal with simple eyes and eight legs, such as a spider or scorpion bacteria Group of tiny living organisms with just one cell baleen Brushlike fringe in the mouths of certain whales. It is used to strain plankton out of seawater when they eat blubber Thick layer of fat in whales and other sea mammals that helps them stay warm in the water breeding Process by which males and females mate and produce offspring

164

camouflage Colours or patterns on an animal’s body that help it blend into its surroundings so it is hidden from view carnivore Animal that mainly eats meat. A lion is a carnivore cartilage Flexible, tough tissue in the skeletons of some animals. A shark’s skeleton is made up of only cartilage

compound eyes Type of eye that has many light-sensitive surfaces. Each surface sees part of an image. Most adult insects have compound eyes courtship Way in which animals behave to find and attract a partner for mating crustacean Invertebrate, such as a crab or lobster, that has two antennae or feelers and a hard outer body. This group lives mostly in water droppings Waste produced by animals such as insects, rodents, or birds extinct Describes a species that has no living members habitat Place where an animal naturally lives or grows herbivore Animal that only feeds on plants. Cattle are herbivores hibernation When animals, such as bats, sleep throughout winter, when food is scarce

Glossary invertebrate Animal, such as an earthworm, that does not have a backbone larva Young form that hatches out of the eggs of insects. They usually look very different from their parents. For example, a caterpillar becomes a butterfly mammal Warm-blooded animal whose body is covered in fur (or hair) and who produces milk to feed its young marsupial Type of mammal whose females have pouches to carry their young metamorphosis Major change that happens to the bodies of certain animals as they grow from babies to adults. Tadpoles turn into frogs through metamorphosis migration Long-distance, seasonal journey made by some animals to find food, warmer weather, or to breed mollusc Invertebrate that has a soft body without any divided parts, often covered by a shell. A snail is a mollusc

plankton Tiny creatures that live in water in huge numbers. They serve as food for sea animals predator Animal that hunts other animals for food primate Mammals that have hands and feet that can grasp, a large brain, and good vision. Gorillas are primates reptile Cold-blooded animals that breathe through lungs, usually lay eggs, and are covered with scales or bony plates. Snakes are reptiles scales Thin, flat, and hard plates that cover the bodies of certain animals, such as reptiles and fish scavenger Animal, such as a hyena or vulture, that feeds on the remains of dead animals shoal Large number of fish swimming together

species Type of living thing that can breed with others of the same type thorax Middle part of an insect’s body to which the wings and legs are attached venomous Describes animals that use poisonous fangs or stings to kill or paralyse their prey and enemies vertebrate Animals that have a backbone and an internal skeleton

non-insect Any invertebrate that is not an insect, such as starfish, centipedes, and worms parasite Animal that lives on or inside another species in order to feed off it

165

Reference section

Index A

aardvark 25 albatross 64 alligators 94-95, 113 amphibians 4, 5, 80-81, 96-97, 154 angler fish 147 animals 4 Antarctic skua 67 anteaters 26 antlers 37 ants 26, 124-125 apes 12-13 aphids 107, 121, 125 arachnids 128 archerfish 147 Arctic tern 76 armadillo 25 asses 41 axolotl 103

B

baby birds 56, 57 baby fish 150-151 baby mammals 7, 8, 21, 31, 33, 47 baby reptiles 85, 91, 95 bacteria 126, 141 badgers 25 barnacles 135 bats 9, 30-31 bears 20-21 bees 122-123 beetles 4, 106, 110, 111, 116, 120-121 big cats 15, 16-17 birds 4, 5, 48-57, 154 birds of prey 52, 68-69, 77 bloodsuckers 30, 118-119, 130 blue whale 46 booby 53 bugs 120-121 bushbaby 11 butterflies 108, 109, 113, 115, 118-119 buzzards 69, 76

C

caecilians 96, 97 caimans 94 camels 36, 43 camouflage 92, 114, 148 caterpillars 108, 109, 110, 113, 115, 119

166

cats 9, 14-15, 16 cattle family 38-39 centipedes 129, 132 chameleons 87, 89 chicks 56, 57, 59, 67, 71, 75 chimpanzees 13 cobras 92 cockroaches 116 cold-blooded 80 coral 138 cormorants 64, 79 courtship 52-53, 75, 150 crabs 129, 134, 135 cranes 52, 53 creepy-crawlies 4, 5, 104-105,106, 155 crocodiles 83, 94, 95 crocodilian family 82, 94 crustaceans 129, 134-135 cuttlefish 136

D

deer 37 defence (amphibians) 100-101 defence (fish) 148-149 defence (insects) 114-115 defence (reptiles) 88, 92 disguise 119, 148 dogs 18-19 dolphins 9, 47 dragonflies 108, 110 duck-billed platypus 9 ducks 51, 62 dung beetle 106

E

eagles 51, 68 earthworms 128, 133 echidna 27 eels 145, 146 egg-eating snake 93 eggs (amphibians) 98, 103 eggs (birds) 55, 56, 57, 65, 67, 70, 74, 79 eggs (fish) 150, 151 eggs (insects) 108, 109, 131 eggs (mammals) 9, 27 eggs (reptiles) 82, 85, 87, 95 elephants 9, 34-35

F

feathers 50 fish 4, 5, 142-145, 155 flamingos 63 fleas 111 flies 110, 126-127 flight 50, 110, 126 flightless birds 78-79 flying squirrel 30 foxes 19 freshwater birds 62-63 frogs 96, 97, 98-101

G

gamebirds 74-75 geckos 86, 87 geese 62, 76 giant panda 21 gibbons 13 gila monster 89 giraffes 42 glowworms 121 gorillas 8, 12v gulls 64, 65

H

hares 24 headlice 116, 140 hedgehogs 27 herons 51, 63 hibernation 91 hippopotamus 43 honeypots ants 125 hoofed mammals 36-43 horns 37, 39 horses 36, 40-41 house dust mites 141 hoverflies 110, 115 hummingbirds 54, 60, 76 hyenas 22

IJK

insects 106-117 jaguar 17 jellyfish 139 joeys 33 kangaroos 32, 33 kingfishers 62 koalas 32 komodo dragon 89

Index

L

ladybirds 107, 109, 115 larva 108, 109 lemurs 10 leopards 16, 17 limpets 137 lions 15, 16 lizards 82, 83, 86-89 lobsters 129, 134 locusts 111, 117

M

maggots 126 mammals 4, 5, 6-9, 154 manatees 45 marsupials 32-33 meerkats 23 metamorphosis 108 mice 29 migration 76, 119 millipedes 129, 133 minks 22, 23 mites 128, 140, 141 moles 9, 25 molluscs 129, 136-137 mongoose family 23 monkeys 10-11 mosquitoes 117 moths 118-119 mudskippers 144

NO

narwhals 47 nests, nesting (birds) 53, 54-55, 56, 61, 65, 74 newts 96, 97, 102-103 octopuses 129, 136 opossums 33 orang-utans 13 ostriches 51, 78 otters 45 owls 70-71 oysters 129, 137

P

pandas 21 pangolin 26 parrot family 73 peacocks 53, 75 pelicans 64

penguins 66-67, 79 pests 116-117 pheasants 53, 74, 75 pigs 36 piranhas 147 plankton 46, 140, 141, 146, 153 polar bears 9, 20, 21 porcupine fish 148 primates 8, 10 puffins 65 pupa 109

R

rabbits 24 raccoons 23 rats 28 rays 152-153 reindeer 37 reptiles 4, 5, 80-83, 154 rheas 79 rhinoceros 36, 43 rodents 28-29

S

salamanders 96, 97, 102-3 salmon 146, 151 scallops 137 scorpions 128, 130-131 sea anemones 129, 139 sea birds 64-67 sea lions 44 sea slugs 137 sea snails 137 sea snakes 91 seahorses 151 seals 44 sharks 143, 152-153 sheep 39 shells 82, 83, 84-85, 132, 137 shoals 145, 148 shrews 27 shrimps 129, 135 skeletons 8, 143 skunks 23 slow worms 82, 86 slugs 129, 133, 137 snails 129, 132, 137 snakes 82, 83, 90-93

snow petrel 67 songbirds 51, 58-59 spiders 128, 130-131 sponges 129, 138 springbok 39 squid 129, 136 starfish 129, 139 stoats 22 sun bear 21 swallows 60, 61 swans 53, 57, 62, 66 swifts 60, 61

T

tadpoles 99 tapirs 36 Tasmanian devil 32 termites 26, 124-125 thorny devil 89 ticks 128, 130 tiger 17 tiger beetle 111 toads 96, 97, 98-101 tortoises 82, 83, 84, 85 toucans 72 travelling birds 51, 76-77 tree frogs 101 tsetse fly 117 tuataras 82, 83 turtles 84, 85

VWZ

vampire bat 30 vultures 69

walruses 45 warm-blooded 9 warthog 36 wasps 122-123 waterbirds, waterfowl 51, 56, 62-63 weasel family 22, 23 weaver birds 53, 54 whales 46, 47 wolves 18, 19 woodlice (woodlouse) 133 woodpeckers 51, 55 worm family 128 zebras 41

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Reference section

Picture credits

The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs:

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Acknowledgements Dorling Kindersley would like to thank: Ben Morgan for his extensive knowledge on the subject, Lynn Bresler for compiling the index, Lorrie Mack for proofreading, and Janet Allis, Cathy Chesson, Jacqueline Gooden, and Cheryl Telfer for design assistance.