A rakish, eye-catching crest really sets some birds apart. Picture the Blue Jaysof the East… or Stetter’s Jays of the West. Ajay’s crest is made up of a slender array of feathers on top of its head. Thesefeathers are a bit longer and can be spiked up or slicked back, depending onwhat the bird is trying to communicate. Whenjays are sitting on eggs, feeding their young, or hanging out with their mate,their crests lie low. But in the case of heightened arousal, like in courtshipor conflict, a...

Birdslay eggs. That means they don’t nurse their young… right? Well, have you everheard of something called “pigeon milk?” Pigeons,one of the most ancient of domesticated birds, feed their nestlings a peculiar,milky liquid- straight from the adult’s beak to the baby’s throat. It’soften called “crop milk,” because it comes from special cells in the birds’crop. The crop is a section of the lower esophagus in some birds that is usedfor storing food before digestion. Unlikemilk from mammals,...

Hello welcome to wild Suzhou, today I’ll be talking about theblue-spotted ribbon-tail ray Blue spotted ribbon-tail rays live near the seafloor in coral reefs and inhabit temperate waters. It is able to dig in sand to conceal itself, andit uses this skill to catch prey. Another way it finds food is scooping up thesand into its mouth and filtering out the food. Its diet consists of small seaanimals like sand worms, shrimp, hermit crabs, small fish, and mussels.  The population of the rays...

Thisrollicking song belongs to a Black-headed Grosbeak. Like most birds, the malegrosbeak begins singing in earnest a few days after reaching his traditionalnesting grounds in spring. And,like most birds, he sings frequently when trying to attract a mate. He’ll singa bit less while he and his mate incubate eggs, but pick up the pace againafter the young hatch. By late summer, his singing will cease. Everwonder how much a bird sings in one day? Some patient observers have shown thata typical...

We’veall heard about the “early bird” getting the “worm.” We know it as sound adviceabout initiative and timely action. And we can almost see that robin leaningback and tugging that recalcitrant worm out of the ground. Research shows,however, that birds dining early and heavily may lower their life expectancy. Astudy of three North American woodland bird species found that sociallydominant birds stay lean during the day and then stoke up when it’s mostimportant- later in the day, before a...

Somebirds are very well known. A few are even legendary. Theancient Greeks and Egyptians described a mythical bird called the Phoenix, amagnificent creature that was a symbol of renewal and rebirth. Accordingto legend, each Phoenix lived for 500 years, and only one Phoenix lived at atime. Just before its time was up, the Phoenix built a nest and set itself onfire. Then, a new Phoenix would rise from the ashes. Boththe Greeks and Egyptians associated the phoenix with the sun. One myth says...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we will betalking about ambergris, an interesting product that comes from the intestinesof a sperm whale and has some unexpected uses. First, let’s talkmore about what ambergris actually is. It is also called grey amber, which isjust a translation of the originally French word. This waxy, usually greysubstance is formed in the bile ducts of a sperm whale’s intestine, and similarto poop, it exits the body the same way. Scientists believe that the...

Youmight think the first bird species that humans raised in captivity would be arelatively small one, like a chicken. Butevidence suggests that people in New Guinea reared the cassowary, often calledthe world’s deadliest bird, as much as 18,000 years ago, long before thedomestication of chickens. Theremains of cassowary eggs and bones at archaeological sites in New Guineaindicate that people gathered the eggs, possibly allowing the more mature eggsto hatch into chicks. Allcassowaries possess...

It’sspring, and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet’s loud, rollicking song echoes from theforest edge in northern and western lowlands. Listen carefully, and you canhear three distinct parts of its song. Thistiny powerhouse of a singer is one of the smallest songbirds on the continents,weighing in at just a little more than half a chickadee. Mostly green and hardto spot, flitting from twig to twig, it hovers in mid-air as it catches tinyinsects. The green crown-feathers on the male kinglet conceal a...

Arobin tugging an earthworm from the ground is a symbol of spring. But that wormit’s eating hasn’t always been here. Whenglaciers pushed south into what is now the U.S. around 20,000 years ago, theyscraped off the soil layer and spelled the end of native earthworms except inthe southern states. So that earthworm plucked by the robin is probably arelatively new arrival, most likely a species Europeans conveyed to theAmericas in plant soil or in the ballast of ships. Soif not earthworms, what...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we will betalking about invasive species. What are they, and what are some of the mostdestructive ones? First, what is aninvasive species? An invasive species is any organism, such as a plant, aninsect, or a bird, that has been introduced to an ecosystem that it doesn’tbelong in, and is now causing harm. An invasive species can cause harm byhurting the environment or human health. They usually are spreadunintentionally by humans, such as rats getting onto a...

The Tasmanian devil liveson the Island of tasmania in Australia, in forests and rainforests.It has adapted to its environment with its Blackfur, since its nocturnal, it helps it go undetected when it’s hunting andhiding from predators. It’s good sense of smell helps it find food in the dark.The Tasmanian devil eats all kinds of meat it can find, so it is a carnivore.It scavenges and hunts to find food. This animal is mostly nocturnal, so mostof its activity happens during the day. They used...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we willtalk about fairy wrasses, which are a genus of very vibrant tropical fish. Whathappened to create the multiple different species of fairy wrasse? The fairy wrasseis a type of small, reef fish. The males are known for their vibrant colors,which they like to show off during courtship. There are many different speciesof fairy wrasse, and their genetic diversity has been a topic of interest forsome scientists. There are around 45 species of fairy wrasses,...

The glasswing butterflylives Around central america.  Like most other species of butterflies,this species migrates because it needs a new food source or it can’t survive inthe current climate.  It eats Flowers, plants, and  nectar, whichmakes This species an Herbivore. Butterflies have long tongues, which help itsuck up  nectar from flowers. The main predator for this species and mostother species of butterflies is Birds. The glasswing butterfly protects itselfwith its diet, it eats a...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we willtalk about coffee pulp, which is a waste product made from producing coffeebeans, and how coffee pulp could potentially help restore rainforests. Coffee pulp is thebyproduct of producing coffee beans. Coffee beans are the seeds of a fruitcalled the Coffee Cherry. Though the coffee cherry isn’t actually a cherry, itcertainly looks like one, as the fruit is usually bright red or yellow. To makeroasted coffee beans, coffee producers remove the flesh and...

The vulturineguinea fowl  lives in the continent of Africa, specifically Ethiopia,Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. Its habitat is deserts and grasslands, with talltrees for it to nest in. they make their nests out of grass and twigs. Sinceit  lives in deserts, it has adapted to be  able to go a long timewithout water. These birds eat  Small mammals, insects, lizards, seeds androots. Its diet makes it an Omnivore. Most of their activity is during the dayso it is Diurnal. It's quite a populous...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we willtalk about side-blotched lizards, a group of lizards that are unique because oftheir mating habits. The side-blotchedlizard looks like an ordinary lizard. They are mainly dull browns and greys,with some white spots or stripes running down their backs. They don’t look veryinteresting, but as I said earlier, it’s their mating habits that have madethem famous. The males come in three types. Some have orange throats, some haveyellow throats, and some have...

The pangolin lives in Asia and Africa, depending on the species.They can be found in grasslands, forests, and in dry bush. It uses its toughclaws to help it build burrows that they live in. They eat mostly ants, larvae,and small insects, so it is a carnivore. It has a long tongue that it sticksout to lick up food. This animal actually does not have teeth, so it swallowssome stones to help it mush up its food. Other animals like the crocodile andsome bird species also do this.   They are shy...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we will betalking about Brood X, also called Brood 10, which is a group of cicadas thatwill be emerging in North America this year, 2021. First, what is sospecial about Brood 10, and what makes it different from other species ofcicadas? Usually, cicadas have life cycles that are 2 to 5 years long. They areunderground for most of their lives until the weather gets warm and adultcicadas emerge to breed. Brood 10 has a 17-year life cycle. Brood 10 is justone...

The Kinkajou is asmall and cute animal that is related to olingos and raccoons. They inhabitSouth American rainforests, and spend lots of time in the trees, which meansthey are arboreal. It uses its long tail to balance itself and hang from trees.The Kinkajou also has sharp claws to help them climb trees. The rainforestenvironment it lives in is great for it because the animal eats lots of fruitfrom trees, as well as honey. The Kinkajou has a good sense of smell and candetect movement well,...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we will betalking about death-feigning, and why do some animals do it? First, what isdeath-feigning? It is a fancier way of saying that an animal is pretending tobe dead, usually so that they can escape a predator. There are many examples ofanimals doing this, and one of the most famous examples would be the Opossum.However, many other organisms do this as well, such as insects, frogs, andsnakes. Charles Darwin once recorded a beetle he had found had...

Duck-billed PlatypusThe Duck billed platypus lives in EasternAustralia, and it inhabits freshwater streams and riverbanks. It has adapted toits environment with webbed feet, thick fur,  and a paddle like tail forswimming. Their tails also store fat incase they can’t go looking for food inthe winter. It is a carnivore so it eats a variety of meat and other animals suchas small fish, shrimps, insects, larvae, and worms. Their bill is verysensitive and  has receptors in it so they can detect...

Hello, this isWild Suzhou. Today, we willtalk about “Rat Island”, an island of the coast of Alaska, USA that shows thestrength of ecosystems and nature. “Rat island”, wasan island that was accidentally introduced to rats, since rats weren’tnaturally found there. This was because of ships sailing to the area and alsopeople who stayed on the island during World War II. As a result, the invasivespecies spread its way through the island and people started to call it RatIsland. Rodents are very...

The Bald Uakari Monkey isvery noticeable, it has a bright pink face with no hair, resembling a mask, andlots of light brown fur on the rest of its body. The uakari monkey lives in theamazon river basin, where the climate is rainy and quite hot. Most of the timethey are in the trees, meaning they are arboreal. Most of the year the basin isflooded but when it isn’t they are able to go down and find food. They eat lotsof fruits, seeds, roots, plants and also insects, they forage during the...