Five Fun Flying Food Facts
1. A house wren can
feed 500 spiders and caterpillars to its nestlings during a single
summer afternoon.
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4.
A northern oriole can eat as many as 17 hairy caterpillars in one
minute.
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2. A chimney swift
can devour 1,000 flying insects in a single day.
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5. More than 70
different bird species have been observed drinking nectar from
hummingbird feeders.
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3. A barn owl can
swallow a large rat whole. After digesting its meal, the owl
coughs up a pellet cantaining the rats bones and fur.
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The white-tail deer do not have top,
front
teeth (incisors).
They have a tough, rounded gum area which the bottom teeth push against
to strip leaves off of branches.
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Male deer (bucks) do not grow antlers the
first
year and
females (does) do not grow antlers at all. Bucks shed and regrow their
antlers each year.
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The Sherman's Fox Squirrel is listed on the
Endangered Species
list as "Threatened in Florida." They are the largest squirrel species
in Florida, weighing about two pounds. They require long-leaf forest
stands
which, unfortunately, are increasingly rare in that rapidly developing
state.
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Florida has five species of owl: the great
horned, barred,
screech, barn, and burrowing. At the Wildlife Center, we have received
all except the burrowing owl, which is extremely rare in Centrtal
Florida.
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Great horned owls are one of the few
enemies of
the striped
skunk.
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The great horned owl's eyesight is about 35
times more acute
than that of humans. they can see a moving field mouse at night from
one
mile away.
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Anhingas (commonly called "Snake Bird" or
"Water Turkey")
are often seen sunning themselves with wings outspread to dry.
Actually,
the reason that they perform that ritual is because they have no oil
gland
on their back. Due to the lack of oil on their feathers, it is easier
for
them to swim underwater to catch fish. they also have an unusual
serrated
bill, the edge almost looks like tiny teeth. The bill benefits the
anhinga
in grasping and holding slippery fish. Unfortunately, fishing line,
rope,
and other materials can become so tightly entwined on the bill that the
bird cannot free itself, often with fatal results.
Opossums
Although they are found throughout most of the United
States, the
opossum’s actual name is the “Virginia Opossum”.
Opossums have a low body temperature of only 94-95 degrees, so
low,
in fact, that most viruses do not survive in the opossum’s
system.
Opossums rarely contract rabies, and have not been known to contract
canine
or feline distemper, parvo, and most other diseases associated with
dogs
and cats.
Opossums have been scientifically documented to be immune to
the
venom of rattlesnakes, copperheads, and moccasins.
Opossums are the only pouched or marsupial mammal in North
America.
Some other continents have numerous species, such as South America and
Australia.
Opossums give birth after a 13-day gestation period, so that
the
babies are born in an undeveloped state. In fact, the neonate
opossums
are so tiny that they are the size of baby bumblebees, and a dozen of
them
will fit in a teaspoon!
A mother opossum carries her babies in her pouch for about
three
months. She can hold the pouch so tight that water cannot enter
it
if she swims in a lake or river.
Opossums clean themselves by washing with their front
paws
and also scratch themselves with their hind feet like a dog. To
make
a nest, the opossum kicks leaves behind it with its hind feet and then
picks up the leaves with its tail and carries them over its back.
It is really funny to watch this procedure!
Baby opossums open their eyes when they are 52 days old.
Considering
that some mammals are born with their eyes open, 52 days is quite late.
One of the gentlest animals that I have ever “known” was an
unreleasable
opossum named Pokey. Pokey never tried to bite, would climb up
into
my lap to be patted, and slept in my bed under the covers at night. She
loved everyone she met, and was a great ambassador for opossums
everywhere.
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