Fennec foxes are the smallest of the canids and live in deserts and arid regions of Africa and Arabia. They have extraordinarily large ears, which help them hunt at night.
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One of most common bird species in North America, American robins can be heard singing their cheerful melody in diverse habitats, from deep forest interiors, to rural pastures, to city parks and backyard gardens. They are thought of as the „bringers of spring,“ due to the species‘ reputation for flying south for the winter and traveling northward during the springtime.
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By Stephen Schulze, Keeper at the National Zoo’s Small Mammal House
the mesh from acacia thorns than we do on anything else
The ruddy turnstone is a short legged, chunky sandpiper with an extensive wintering range. Turnstones are known for sticking their bills under stones, pebbles and shells, and flipping them over to find food.
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Despite its name, the short-billed dowitcher has a bill twice the size of its head. It’s a short bill only compared to its relative, the long-billed dowitcher. The two species were, until recently, considered one species. The main difference between them is the slight difference in beak length and the dramatic difference in their songs and calls.
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These handsome diving ducks are a common sight in the northern prairies of the United States and Canada, where they fly each year to breed among semi-permanent ponds and wetlands. As pochards, or diving ducks, they are specially adapted for propelling themselves underwater in search of aquatic plants, small gastropods and mollusks to eat.
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Often described as resembling children’s teddy bears, pygmy slow lorises have large, round, forward-facing eyes. Their small size makes them almost invisible in dense forests.
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Let’s play a game…for science! With a tap of the touch-screen computer, orangutans at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo try their memories at matching pictures. These games help scientists study the apes’ metacognition.
foods—grapes—but the treat is delivered somewhere else
The northern shoveler is an easily recognizable duck due to the shovel-shaped bill that inspired its name. Their bill, one of the largest of any waterfowl, is specialized for skimming the water’s surface for small invertebrates and aquatic plants.
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In a little over a week, our western lowland gorilla infant, Zahra, will be six months old! Overall, she is doing great and has recently started going on many little adventures.
gets older, she will give her mom – and everyone else
