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Ducks & Geese : Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. Goose (plural geese, male gander(s)) is the general English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller. True geese are medium to large birds, always (with the exception of the Nēnē) associated to a greater or lesser extent with water. Most species in Europe, Asia and North America are strongly migratory as wild birds, breeding in the far north and wintering much further south. However, escapes and introductions have led to resident feral populations of several species.

Ducks & Geese

Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:26pm PST

Snakes : A snake is a scaly, limbless, elongate reptile from the order Squamata. An old synonym for snake is serpent (which comes from Old French, and ultimately from *serp-, "to creep"[1]); in modern usage this usually refers to a mythic or symbolic snake.

Snakes

A snake is a scaly, limbless, elongate reptile from the order Squamata ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:25pm PST

Squirrels : A squirrel is a small or medium-sized rodent of the family Sciuridae. In the English-speaking world, it commonly refers to members of this family's genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus, which are tree squirrels that have large bushy tails, and are indigenous to Europe, Asia and the Americas. Similar genera are found in Africa. The Sciuridae family also include flying squirrels, as well as ground squirrels such as the chipmunks, prairie dogs, and woodchucks.

Squirrels

A squirrel is a small or medium-sized rodent of the family Sciuridae. ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:25pm PST

Birds : Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals. Birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, and the earliest known bird is the Late Jurassic Archaeopteryx. Ranging in size from tiny hummingbirds to the huge Ostrich and Emu, there are between 9,000-10,000 known living bird species in the world, making them the most diverse class of terrestrial vertebrates. Modern birds are characterized by feathers, a beak with no teeth, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a light but strong skeleton. Most birds have forelimbs modified as wings and can fly, though the ratites and several others, particularly endemic island species, have also lost the ability to fly.

Birds

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate an ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:24pm PST

Butterflies : A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colorful winged adult form, and most species being day-flying, they regularly attract attention. The diverse patterns formed by their brightly colored wings and their erratic-yet graceful-flight have made butterfly watching a popular hobby.

Butterflies

A butterfly is an insect of the order Lepidoptera, butterflies are not ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:24pm PST

White Tail Deer : A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. A number of broadly similar animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also called deer. Depending on their species, male deer are called stags, harts, bucks or bulls, and females are called hinds, does or cows. Young deer are called fawns or calves. Hart, from Old English heorot ‘deer’, is a term for a stag, particularly a Red Deer stag past its fifth year. It is not commonly used, but Shakespeare makes several references, punning the sound alike "hart" and "heart" for example in Twelfth Night. "The White Hart" and "The Red Hart" are common English pub names, and the county Hertfordshire is named after them. The history of the word deer is quite interesting in that it was originally quite broad in meaning and came to be specialized. In Middle English, der (O.E. dēor) meant a beast or animal of any kind. [1] This general sense gave way to the modern sense by the end of the Middle English period, around 1500. The German word tier, the cognate of English deer, still has the general sense of "animal." The adjective of relation pertaining to deer is cervine.

White Tail Deer

A deer is a ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. A number ...

Updated: Mar 08, 2008 5:23pm PST