Male hooting
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Tawny Owls - hunt almost entirely at night, usually waiting
quietly on a perch, watching and listening. After detecting a prey animal
moving in the grass, the Owl glides down or drops onto it and, at the moment of
impact, extends its wings to cover the victim, which is usually killed
immediately by the powerful feet and claws. During courtship the male perches
near the female and sways from side to side, then up and down, raising first
one wing then the other and finally both together. |
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Raccoon - raccoons are easily identified by their masked faces
and ringed tails. They have five toes on both the front and hind feet! They are
omnivorous and eat a variety of foods, including frogs, fish, amphibians,
insects, eggs, mice, berries, nuts, vegetation, corn, cat food, and human
garbage! During cold weather, raccoons will sleep for several days, but do not
hibernate. |
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Opossum -
Opossums are North America's only marsupial (pouched mammal). Opossums have
opposable thumbs on their rear feet and can also grasp with their tails.
Opossums in extreme danger may "play 'possum." This coma-like state can last up
to four hours, during which time the opossum will become stiff, drool, and have
extremely slow, shallow breathing. Most predators will give up the attack,
believing the opossum to be dead! |
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Salamander - larval stage salamanders breathe using gills,
while adult salamanders use lungs or breathe through the skin. Most salamanders
are carnivores. They feed on insects, worms, and similar prey. Some species use
their tongues to catch the prey. Salamanders' predators include fish, snakes,
and birds. |
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Black Bear - if
need be, black bears can run faster than 25 mph or climb trees as fast as
squirrels. Black bears communicate with grunts, by expelling air in different
ways, or with a resonant "voice". Bear cubs readily scream in distress, whine
when approaching their mother, or give a tremulous hum when nursing or are
comfortably warm! |
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Bobwhite
Quail - famous for their vocal abilities. In spring and summer, males
challenge each other from their perches with a whistled bob-WHITE! or
bob-bob-WHITE! At all times of the year they may caterwaul like cats. When a
quail senses an approaching enemy, it instantly warns its companions. The
entire flock, or covey, explodes into flight with a loud roar of wings and
scatters in all directions! Bobwhites are also rapid and tireless
runners. |
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Northern
Copperhead - the coloration of the Copperhead resembles the fallen leaves,
sticks, and other debris on the forest floor, giving it excellent protection
from its enemies. Baby copperheads, up to a year or so in age, may be easily
identified by the presence of a bright yellowish-green tail tip. The tail is
twitched and turned to resemble the movements of a grub or worm. Investigating
animals see the movement as a possible meal but do not notice the well-hidden
snake attached to the tail. |
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Whitetail
Deer - these deer are extremely cautious and wary animals with highly
developed senses of sight, smell, and hearing. If seriously frightened however,
a whitetail deer will often utter a loud, snorting call, and then quickly run
away while raising their tail upwards like a flag, exposing the white
underneath as a visual alarm to other deer nearby. The young deer, known as
fawns, are almost scentless for the first few days of their life!
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American
Burying Beetle - used to be found in all states east of the Rocky Mountains
and some areas of southeastern Canada. Today, the only eastern state they are
found in is Rhode Island. When the eggs laid by the female burying beetle hatch
into larvae, the mother and father beetle stay with the young beetles to feed
and protect them. This level of parental care is very unusual in
insects. |
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Northern
Cardinal - during courtship feedings, female cardinals assume a posture
similar to that of begging fledglings and quiver their wings. Males respond to
this display by approaching the female with food. Both adults feed the
nestlings, but male cardinals usually provide more food than do females. To
encourage following, the adult glides away from fledglings in the appropriate
direction with spread wings and tail. If the fledglings fail to respond, the
adult returns and repeats the display. |
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Eastern
Cottontail Rabbit - cottontail rabbits require more water in the winter
than in the summer, and they can usually will eat snow to obtain this. The ear
length of a rabbit is usually related to the particular habitat in which it is
found - the cottontail's ears are of medium length. Baby rabbits are called
kittens. |
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Chipmonk - cheek pouches on a
chipmonk can strech almost to the size of the chipmunk's head. A chipmunk can
carry nine large nuts at a time: four in each cheek pouch and one between its
teeth! A chipmunk usually bites off any sharp edges from nuts or seeds before
placing them in its elastic cheek pouches as to not pinch or peirce it's
cheeks.
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Female - Dark
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Eastern
Tiger Swallowtail - adults eat the nectar of flowers from a variety of
plants including wild cherry and lilac. Caterpillars eat leaves of various
plants including wild cherry, sweetbay (Magnolia), basswood, tulip tree, birch,
ash, cottonwood, mountain ash, and willow. The caterpillars rest on silken mats
in shelters of curled leaves. |
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European Hedgehog - eat beetles, worms, caterpillars, slugs
and almost anything they can catch! Hibernation usually begins about November
and ends around Easter, but is much affected by the weather. Hedgehogs normally
wake up several times over winter and often build a new nest. Hedgehogs are not
related to porcupines, instead hedgehog relatives include shrews and
moles. |
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