Not all birds migrate south for the
winter. Winter is a hard season for birds, and many risk freezing to death
at night. It doesn't take much effort or money to provide shelter for them,
and it can make a huge difference to the little feathered guys!
Arctic
animals: How do Arctic plants and animals survive? Bio
clock: I can wake up at a desired time (plus or minus 15 minutes). Over
the years I have become proficient. My friends declaim my ability and
attribute my skill to other causes. Can you explain this ability please? Bio clock: How does the bio clock work?
Biodiversity:
Which has more biodiversity, rainforests or the ocean? Biomagnetism:
What is biomagnetism? Name some creatures that sense a magnetic field. Brains: what animals have the heaviest brain? Chews: What
animal chews its food with its legs?
Cold-blooded animals: I had SARS on my mind when I saw a large snake
crossing the road. This triggered a question. Do cold-blooded animals develop
fevers if sick and how could you tell?
Eat: What do most mammals eat? Do any eat blood other than the
vampire bat?
Eat mates: I was wondering are there any other female animals
that eat their mate? Eyes: What animal has the biggest eyes? How big
are they?
Eyes: Which land animal has the largest eyes?
Heart: What animal has the biggest heart? Heaviest: How much does the
heaviest elephant weigh?
Highest jumper: What animal can jump the highest?
Highest jumper: I just read that a spittlebug jumps twice as
high as a flea. Does that make it the highest jumper instead of the flea as
you said in your column? Life spans: which animals have the longest
and which the shortest life spans?
Life spans: Regarding your answer for the longest-lived animal, I
have a correction: the rougheye rockfish has been aged to 205 years.
Life spans: Why do larger animals live longer than smaller ones?
Life spans revisited: I read with interest your response as
to "why larger animals live longer than small animals (slower metabolism and
having a limited number of breaths and heartbeats). But we are all encouraged
to exercise in order to live longer. Exercise uses up the breaths and
heartbeats faster than someone at rest. So, what's the deal?
Life spans: What insect has the
longest life span? Loudest animal:
What animal is the loudest?
Mass extinctions: How often do mass extinctions and ice ages occur?
Will humans eventually succumb to one? Mass extinctions:
What caused the mass extinctions?
Mate for life: Which animals mate for life?
Migrant champ: What animal migrates
the farthest? Migrant second champ: What animal
migrates the next farthest? Migrant champ land mammal:
What land mammal migrates the farthest?
Mortality: Is there an animal that lives more than 1000
years? If so, what is the animal? Most poisonous: what's the most poisonous
creature on earth?
Most poisonous, update:
What is the most poisonous creature in the world? We may have found it:
a small beetle. A reader alerts me to these new developments.
Neck bones:
In a recent question, you stated that almost all mammals have only seven neck
bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have seven, too? Next smartest: Next to humans, what animal is
smartest? No-father fertilization: Is it possible
to take the chromosomes from one female egg and inject them into another
female egg so they attach and actually form a fertilized egg? Scent:
What is the speed of scent? If sharks can smell at great distances, how fast
does the scent of blood or anything else travel in water or air? What permits
scent to travel in water?
Smartest animals: What are the
top 10 smartest animals? Smallest bird: What is
the world's smallest bird? Tallest: What's the tallest animal? How tall?
Teeth: Do other animals have separate sets of baby and adult
teeth?
Teeth: Why is it that animals don't have more dental problems
even though they NEVER brush their teeth? Water walk: How do
insects walk on water?
Weight:
Which animal eats food equal to its weight?
Animals---
birds
Baby bird:
When a human touches a bird's nest, does the mother bird really reject the
young?
Baby names: My son is doing a general knowledge test and we are
struggling to find the answers for three questions: What are a young hare, a
young falcon, and a young owl called? Chicks:
What happens to the chicks when the adult birds migrate?
Chicks: How fast do baby chickens grow (how much do they grow
in a month)?
Chick twins: Have two chickens ever hatched from one egg? You know,
like twins.
Chicks: In your recent article on tough eggs, you say the chick picks
the more fragile middle "side" of the egg to peck its way out. This sounds like
the hatchling has some choice in the matter – doesn’t it start pecking where its
beak is?
Earthquakes: Q: In school we learned that primary waves can travel
through solids, liquids, and gases. My question is: what would happen if a
P-wave was
traveling through the ground and it reached a canyon and a bird was in the air
when the wave started traveling through the air? Would the bird be affected?
Egg: What side of an egg is stronger? Egg,
chicks breathe: Do baby chicks breathe inside the egg? Egg, fertile: How can I check to see if the
egg I found is fertile or not? Egg, heaviest: What bird lays the heaviest
egg? Egg, leaky: What makes the little bubbles on
boiling eggs? Egg, pressure: at what average water pressure
does a chicken egg fail?
Egg, smallest: What's the smallest viable (one that hatches) egg?
Egg, smallest:
What’s the record for the smallest bird egg? Harpy eagles: What is the life span of the
harpy eagle? Hummingbirds:
How the heck are hummingbirds tracked through their migrations?
Hummingbirds:
When hummingbirds fly south do they hitch rides on the backs of geese?
Jays:
You mention nutcrackers and jays, both of which are better hoarders than magpies
(at least, for longer times). Why, then, do bright and shining things not also
attract them? Magpies:
Why do these birds have jewel-like objects on the brain? Migrate: why do birds migrate south in the
fall? Migrant champ: What animal migrates
the farthest?
Mobbing big birds: How come big birds don't take a whack at little
birds harassing them? Do the big birds feel threatened or just annoyed?
Neck bones:
In a recent question, you stated that almost all mammals have only seven neck
bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have seven, too? Odors, distinguish: do they
distinguish odors?
Ostrich and emus:
What is the difference between an ostrich and an emu?
Ostrich: How long does it take to
boil an ostrich egg? Ostrich:
Can ostriches swim?
Ostrich:
Do Ostrich have teeth to eat?
Owls:
What distance can an owl hear to?
Pigeons:
I heard that pigeons are rated number 3 on the list of the smartest birds. Is
this true? What is a pigeons IQ? Where are they on the list of smart birds?
Rain: where do all the birds go when it rains? Robin: how high do robins fly when they migrate?
Sleeping:
How can birds sleep without falling off their perches?
Sleeping: Do birds close their eyes when they sleep?
Sleeping:
What bird flies while sleeping?
Sleeping: Why do birds sleep on
one foot? Smallest bird: What is
the world's smallest bird?
Smallest bird: What is the world’s smallest bird [and viable
egg]? Smell: do birds smell? Swans:
Recently we were sitting outside and heard a bizarre noise coming from something
flying over our heads. We realized it was a couple of swans, and we are now
trying to figure out what the noise was. Were they calling or was it their
wings beating? Tern, Arctic: How terns fly farther
Vision: Do birds see both visible and ultraviolet light or
only ultraviolet?
Animals--- frogs and
other amphibians
Fever:
I had SARS on my mind when I saw a large snake crossing the road. This
triggered a question. Do cold-blooded animals develop fevers if sick and how
could you tell? Frogs, bellow: What is
a Spring Peeper? Frogs, glow: Will a frog glow if he's eaten a lot
of fireflies? Frog hearing: how does a frog hear without outside
ears? Frogs, poisonous: what's the most poisonous
creature on earth?
Frogs,
poisonous, update: What is the most poisonous creature in the
world? We may have found it: a small beetle. A reader
alerts me to these new developments.
Frogs, poisonous: I was just reading your article on poison dart
frogs from South America, and wondered, when kept in captivity, does the
poison in these frogs disappear after a while? I've seen them in the zoo and
got curious if those frogs could still kill a human even if they don't have
the same diet as in the wild.
Frog tongues:
How long is an average frog's tongue? Frogs, polar: Why don't frogs live in cold places,
like Antarctica?
Neck bones: In a recent question, you stated that almost all
mammals have only seven neck bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have
seven, too?
Tadpoles: How do I raise tadpoles? I've an aquarium full of
them.
Animals---
insects and arachnids
Ants: Discovery: Rainforest ants that glide
Ants:
During my childhood I have witnessed many ant wars.
Mostly between big and small ants... is it true they are fighting for gain
or is it just survival? Ants: Recently, you said that
queen ants live as long as their colonies. Which dies first the colony or
the queen?
Ants: In documentaries about ants, the soldiers and worker ants
are both classified as female. If the queen is the only one that lays eggs,
why are the others identified as female? Also, how many male ants exist in a
colony or are the queens like black widow spiders?
Ants: What causes a queen ant to lay queen eggs instead of worker
eggs? How does she make queens, kings, and workers? Ants:
How many eyes does an ant have?
Ants: How many teeth do ants have? Ant Life spans: What insect has the
longest life span?
Bees:How
does royal jelly create a queen honeybee?
Bees:
What is happening when a huge number of bees hang from tree branches? Beetles: Why
do large black beetles (we call them stink bugs) hang around ant holes?
Beetles: The bodies of beetles display a great variety of colors.
Describe an experiment I could do to determine the cause of a beetle’s
color. Is it due to organic pigments in the
cuticle
[skin], interference patterns, or heavy metals in the cuticle? Big bugs: Why are there no
insects as big as, say, an elephant? What is the biggest insect? Big bugs: could a
six-inch or larger beetle chop off a person's finger if it got ahold of it?
Its pincers look menacing. Bug breath: Do insects breath? Do they have lungs? Butterfly: Do butterflies excrete wastes? Cicadas:
Is the loud buzzing sound we hear in the summer due to the heat? Or is it
just a big bug in the trees like I always thought? Cicadas:
Cincinnati currently is engulfed with 17-year cicadas. These handsome
insects swarm out of holes in the ground where they have been hibernating
for precisely seventeen years. My question is how do the cicadas know when
seventeen years have expired and that it is now time to emerge?
Cicadas: Most cicadas live and die in a year. Why did 17-year
cicadas become so long-lived?
Darkling beetle:
I see stinkbugs out on the desert, and wondered: how hot can they
get, how tough are they and what do they drink? Dying bugs: Why do
bugs turn over onto their backs when they are ready to die? Flies:
I was wondering how long a house fly lives
Flies:My young son would like to know if
houseflies can fly in the rain?
Flies:When a housefly lands, why does it always rubs its
front two legs together?
Flies: Why are maggots and pupae better able to survive the winter
than adult flies?
Flies: How can I prove that houseflies can fly upside down?
Flies: I am doing a speech on "in defense of the fly" and wonder
if you could tell me a couple of good things about flies. Flies:
What are the little black dots that flies leave behind all over the surfaces
in my house? Flies:
I have a problem with stable flies in my house. On Saturday, I cleaned house
from top to bottom. On Sunday, I noticed 2 flies. On Monday, 10 flies and on
Tuesday, 30. I found cocoons when I rolled the carpet back a few inches. The
carpet is fairly clean, regularly vacuumed, and is about one inch thick. The
web sites I checked said stable flies nest in damp organic material only. My
two questions are — why would these flies infest my carpet? What keeps the
flies from laying their eggs on me and infesting my body?
Flight: How fast can a bug fly? Fireflies: do fireflies have fires inside them? If
not, how do they light up? Fireflies: Why don't they have fireflies
on the West Coast? Fireflies: Do fireflies produce a gas? Is it
methane? Grasshopper: Why are there so many grasshoppers
and why are they so active when the temperature is the low hundreds? Grasshopper statistics: Please explain your
statistics describing how much grasshoppers eat compared with a cow. Grasshopper: What is the
average life span of a grasshopper?
Grasshopper: How do grasshoppers survive the winter? Grasshopper:Do grasshoppers sleep?
Hearts: Do mosquitoes have hearts? House flies: I was wondering how long a house fly
lives. Ladybugs: do ladybugs come from a nest? Ladybugs: Is ordering
ladybugs from distant states a good idea? I'm trying to keep down the
aphids.
Ladybugs: How do ladybugs communicate?
Ladybugs: One of your answers states that ladybugs mate in spring.
Another states that they mate in autumn. You state also that they have a
4-week lifetime but they hibernate in the winter. Pick one — delete one. Ladybug, snakes, mating: Do ladybugs mate
or do they fertilize their eggs internally? How about snakes?
Larvae: Why do animals have larvae? What is the importance or necessity
of such a stage? Life spans: What insect has the longest
life span?
Lobsters: Is there an animal that lives more than 1000 years? If
so, what is the animal? Lovebugs: Are Lovebugs still a problem for motorists
in Florida? Lovebug name: What is the official name of
Lovebugs?
Millipedes: Exactly how many
little legs are on a millipede? Mormon crickets:
Tell me about Mormon crickets. Last Sunday, I was in Austin, Nevada, a tiny
mining remnant. The town was literally crawling with huge black Mormon
crickets all moving in the same direction and, when they reached a building
or a telephone pole, they went straight up it. The streets were full of
squashed ones, run over by cars. Is this an annual thing, or a long-term
emergence, like cicadas? Where are they the rest of the year? Are these the
same crickets that threatened the pioneer Mormon settlement at Salt Lake
City? Mosquitoes: Do mosquitoes ever breed in deep,
still water?
Mosquitoes: I have two small ponds and now have mosquito larvae in
them. I would like to know if there is something I can put into the ponds to
kill the larvae?
Mosquitoes: How many teeth do mosquitoes have? Moths: why are they attracted
to light?
No see'ums: What are no see’ums? I don’t see them at all but they
sure bite me.
Praying mantis: What hunting methods
does a praying mantis use to catch food? Scorpions: My
roommate owns two emperor scorpions and claims they are the fourth poisonous
creatures in the world. Help me prove him wrong. Scorpions:
Do scorpions glow in the dark? If they do, why?
Scorpions: I had two emperor scorpions and one of my scorpions ate
the other one. Is that normal?
Scorpions: Do the females kill the male after mating?
Scorpions: Where do scorpions get their name?
Scorpions: Do scorpions drink water? If they do,
where do they go to drink water? What do scorpions eat?
Scorpions: Where do scorpions go when it rains?
Scorpions & spiders: My boyfriend has a funnel web spider and a
death stalker scorpion. He yells at me when I mess with their tanks. He says
they can kill us if I let them out. I think he is just scared I'll kill
them. Which is it? Can they can kill us or us them?
Spiders: What is the life span of a spider?
Spiders: Why do spiders wrap their prey up in their web? Is the
prey dead by that point or is it just paralyzed? How come spiders
don't get caught on their own web? Are only certain spots sticky and they
know which spots to step on?
Spiders: Can a chameleon or spider see behind itself without
turning its head?
Spiders: Can Spiders swim?
Stinkbug:
I see stinkbugs out on the desert, and wondered: how hot can they
get, how tough are they and what do they drink? Water striders: How
do insects walk on water?
Animals---
mammals,
marsupials
Baby names: My son is doing a general knowledge test and we are
struggling to find the answers for three questions: What are a young hare, a
young falcon, and a young owl called?
Bellybuttons: Do horses have bellybuttons? Camels: Do camels have
three eyelids? Caribou: What land mammal
migrates the farthest?
Cats' eyes: Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? Cat: At what height will a cat NOT land on its
feet? Cat: Where
in the cats' throat do they make the purring sound? Chimpanzees: Next smartest: Next to humans, what
animal is smartest? Cows:
Can a cow jump? Cow: From what animals did
domestic cows evolve?
Cows: Did cows evolve from whales?
Cows: Why don't cows, sheep, and goats have their top front teeth?
Cows:
How fast can cows run?
Cows: Do cows blink? Cows: Why do cows have four stomachs? Dogs: if dogs don't digest starch like humans, how
do they? Dogs: why do dogs eat grass?
Dogs: Why are dogs’ noses always cold? Dogs:
Why do dogs lie on their backs? Dolphins: Why do dolphins like to swim in the front of
the ship bow?
Dolphins vs. sharks: I've heard that dolphins and sharks are
natural enemies. If this is so, why? Eggs: at what average water pressure does a
chicken egg fail? Elephants: How much does the
heaviest elephant weigh? Elephant teats: Why are an elephant teat's
between the front legs when those of most animals are between the back legs? Fingerprints: do other primates, such as chimps,
apes, and monkeys, have fingerprints? Giraffe: What's the tallest animal? How tall? Giraffe: Do giraffes get
struck by lightning?
Giraffe: What is the purpose of the antennas on the giraffe's
head? Giraffe:Do giraffes see in color ?
Giraffe: Can giraffes swim? Grizzlies:
How fast do grizzly bears run?
Groundhog, gophers: What is the difference between a groundhog and
a gopher?
Horse: How and why do human and horse feet differ Horses: why can't horses throw up?
Kangaroos: Do male kangaroos have pouches?
Kangaroos: How did kangaroos get pouches Lemmings: Do lemmings
commit suicide?
Longest living successful body design: What living mammalian
species has been extant in its current form for the longest time? Mammoths: How thick is a wooly mammoth's coat? Moose:
I know that Alces alces is the scientific name for the moose but what does
it mean?
Most poisonous: What is the name of the most poisonous mammal
living today?
Neck bones: I know that most mammals have seven vertebrae in their
necks. Do you know of any mammals with more or fewer than seven?
Neck bones: In a recent question, you stated that almost all
mammals have only seven neck bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have
seven, too?
Poisonous: We know the platypus has venom. I'm wondering if there
are any other poisonous mammals.
Polar bears: Is it true that polar bears are left handed?
Predators: Why are predators and, of course, scavengers unaffected
by rotted meat?
Pumas: What animal can jump the highest?
Rabbits: How old is the oldest living rabbit?
Rabbits: Do rabbits make sounds to communicate with other rabbits?
Rabbits: Why do rabbits twitch their noses? Rabbit teeth: do they drop out for old rabbits
like people's do? Raccoons: Do raccoons like water? Do they attack
something just for the heck of it? If so, why? Sea mammals: What do sea mammals drink?
Shrews: Which animal eats food equal to its weight?
Squirrels: What is the normal life span for a gray squirrel?
Tigers: What’s the average speed of a tiger? What’s the average
speed of a human? How fast do humans swim?
Weasels: I have read that weasels sometimes perform a "hypnotic
dance" to mesmerize their prey before attacking them. Any truth to this notion? Weeping 2: Do other primates weep? Do other animals
weep?
Whales: Did cows evolve from whales?
Whales: In your article on whales and cows, you said that whales
evolved fast from land to marine animal. Why so fast?
Whales: Which can dive deeper — whales or dolphins? Also, which
can hold their breath the longest? Whales--loudest
animal: What animal is the loudest? Whale, migrate: What animal migrates
the next farthest of all animals? Whales drown: Do whales and other marine mammals
drown when they die? Wolves tiptoe:
Do wolves tiptoe like the cartoons say? Wolves and coyotes: do they mate? Zebras:
Why are zebras striped?
Animals---reptiles
Chameleons: How do they change color and know
which color to change to? Chameleons, evolved: Did chameleons always
change color or did they develop the ability over time? Chameleons:
Does the chameleon have a predator?
Chameleons: When I was a child I lived in southern Africa. We used
to get quite a few chameleons. I was told that putting them on a red
background caused them stress that could eventually lead to their death. I
was only about 5 or 6 years old but the memory has stuck with me. Is this
true or was this someone having fun with me?
Chameleons: How long is the veiled chameleon’s tongue?
Chameleons: Can a chameleon or spider see behind itself without
turning its head?
Crocodile: Which animal can not move its
tongue? Crocodile: Can crocodiles live in the sea? Lizards: why do lizards do pushups? Lizards: Is there a
lizard with no legs?
Lizards: How does a gecko lizard cling upside down and scoot
across something slick, like glass?
Lizards:
What sound does a lizard make?
Lizards: Why does the tail of a lizard continue to wriggle for a
few moments after it has been snapped from its body? Why doesn't the
wriggling stop immediately?
Neck bones: In a recent question, you stated that almost all
mammals have only seven neck bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have
seven, too?
Sight: Do reptiles see in color like birds and humans? Do
they see things in their visual spectrum that we don't (like birds seeing
into the ultraviolet)? Snakes:
Do snakes have legs? I heard on the Discovery Channel that they have little
bitty legs, like nubs. Is this true?
Animals---
fish, aquatic
invertebrates
Archerfish: What fish catches insects by
shooting jets of water at them? Archerfish: How does he hit the bug since his eyes
are below water? Clams: How do clams (i.e., mussels) breathe?
Clams: How do clams mate?
Clams: How do clams dig? Fish: Do fish see in color? Fish: Do fish sleep?
Fish: Can fish still see when they are sleeping since they don't
have eyelids? Fish: How do fish get in mountain lakes? Fish:
How deep in the ocean do fish live? Why doesn’t pressure crush deep-sea
fish?
Fish: How do fish see and feed at depths beyond the reach of
light?
Fish: Okay, how can fish swim up a waterfall?
Fish: Do fish go over Niagara Falls? Do they live? Do fish
Do fish get carried over waterfalls at Yosemite? Or do
they know to stay away from the edge?
Fish: I just read that the world’s smallest fish has been
discovered. Is that true?
Fish: Can fish feel pain?
Fish neck bones: In a recent question, you stated that almost all
mammals have only seven neck bones. What about non-mammals? Do they have
seven, too?
Gastrotrich: What is a gastrotrich? Is it a fish, a mammal,
reptile or amphibian? Glowing
sea: What causes the sea to glow at night sometimes?
Jellyfish:
I've read the natural
enemy of the jellyfish is a centephus. What is this?
Marine animals: If lightning strikes the ocean, do the marine
animals get hurt or killed?
Mantis shrimp: Can a mantis shrimp really punch a hole in
its aquarium glass? I mean, how can it? Mussels: How do mussels breathe?
Octopuses: How many hearts does an octopus have and what's its
blood pressure?
Octopuses:
Does
an octopus migrate?
Octopuses: I read on a restaurant kids’ menu that some Antarctic
octopuses have 40 legs? Is this true?
Octopuses: Is an octopus a reptile, mammal, or amphibian? Or is it just
a fish?
Octopuses: How do blue-ringed octopuses breathe?
Octopuses: Do octopuses have teeth?
Octopuses: How long are an octopus' arms? What is a siphon?
Do octopuses have bones? How did octopuses get so intelligent? Why
don't octopuses have bones? How do octopuses change colors?
Octopuses: What does an octopus do when threatened?
Octopuses: What sound do octopuses make? Sharks:
Why do hammerheads have hammerheads?
Sharks: What’s the biggest great white shark ever caught? Sharks,
scent: What is the speed of scent? If sharks can smell at great
distances, how fast does the scent of blood or anything else travel in water
or air? What permits scent to travel in water?
Sharks vs. dolphins: I've heard that dolphins and sharks are
natural enemies. If this is so, why? Shrimp: Why do shrimp and lobsters turn
orange-red when cooked? Shrimp: Do shrimp have a heart?
Starfish (sea star): How can starfish be split in two and still
live?
Starfish (sea star): How does a sea star function without a brain? How
does it coordinate its arm movements and sense light with the "eyespots" if
there are no brain cells to process or use the information? Zebra Mussels: How have they affected the
temperature of Lake Erie?
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Arctic
animals:![A queen bee with her retinue [© Scott Camazine 2003, used with permission]](images/2004-03-19-queen-retinue.jpg)
How
does royal jelly create a queen honeybee?![These appealing creatures migrate. [NOAA]](images/2003-12-05-octopus.jpg)
Does
an octopus migrate?