As you read your latest issue of Zoobooks Owls, you’ll also learn that owls nest in unusual places. Some small owls rely on woodpecker holes in trees and in giant cacti. Barn owls may choose barns, caves, or mines. Burrowing owls nest underground in the former burrows of prairie dogs, foxes, and ground squirrels. To ward off danger, the distress call of a burrowing owl chick sounds like the rattle of a prairie rattlesnake.

Chicks, or baby owls, stay with their parents until they are about three months old. They soon find their own hunting territories, where they may stay for the rest of their lives. A mother owl gives her little chicks constant care for their first three months. She feeds them, protects them from danger, and teaches them to fly and hunt. The father owl often helps the mother raise their young. The father may even take his turn sitting on the eggs. After the eggs hatch, he goes hunting and brings back food for the whole family. Find these and even more fun facts in Zoobooks Owls!

Another fun fact you might not know about parrots is that they have four toes. Two point forward and two point backward. This gives them a very strong grip – so strong they can even hang upside-down! All parrots also have hooked beaks. A parrot uses its strong beak to crack hard nuts and sees, and uses the sharp hook at the tip to pull out the soft parts of the fruit.

Most parrots are brightly colored, but many have at least some green feathers, which help them stay hidden in the leaves of trees. Parrots need to keep these feathers clean and tidy to help them fly better and stay healthy. They use their beaks to get ruffled feathers back into place and get rid of dirt or bugs. This special bird-cleaning is called preening. Enjoy reading your newest Zootles issue to learn even more about parrots!

Recognizing owls can be pretty easy – you just have to look for a round face, big eyes, and a sharp, hooked bill. The face is almost completely covered by two large discs, called facial discs. Many owls also have feathers sticking up on their heads that look like ears. These are called ear tufts.            

It is not quite as easy to tell one kind of owl from another. You have to look carefully. For example, the Eurasian eagle owl and the great horned owl of North America share similarities of habit, vocalization, breeding biology, and appearance. Both have large ear tufts, and like most owls, their legs and feet are thickly covered with feathers that protect them from biting prey. Be sure to check out the Cincinnati Zoo’s Fact File about Caspian and her fellow Eurasian eagle owls so you can learn how to tell her apart from other owls!

Owls possess unusual powers of sight and hearing, but they are not supernatural powers. They are natural adaptations that let them live most efficiently in their nocturnal environment. Owls have ideal bodies for night living. In fact, they have the best night vision of any creature on earth! Their hearing is even more remarkable. An owl can hear the tiny sound of a mouse stepping on a twig from 75 feet away. That’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?

Now you see why there is no real reason to fear owls. Their habits actually make them helpful to humans, for owls play a very important role in nature. By hunting rodents, insects, and small birds, owls help to maintain a natural balance of plant and animal life. If it weren’t for owls and other predators, the number of these animals would zoom out of control. Check out your latest issue of Zoobooks to read more about what makes owls so great!

Gorillas, for example, can be huge! Some gorillas weigh as much as four grown-up people. Gorillas do climb into trees, but they spend more time on the ground than the other apes do.

Chimpanzees are very playful. All chimpanzees, even grown-ups, are smaller than humans, but much, much stronger.

Bonobos are related to chimpanzees, but are a little smaller and often have darker faces. Some people think bonobos are the smartest of the great apes.

And finally, orangutans spend lots of time swinging through the trees. They are easy to recognize by their fluffy, orange hair.

Though gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos live in Africa, and orangutans live in Asia, all great apes live in rain forests. This means they’re also great climbers. They climb and swing to get from place to place, and sometimes just for fun! Zootles Great Apes features these and many more fun facts about great apes, so if you haven’t already, get reading!

We know what you’re thinking now…yikes, doesn’t that mean these snakes are dangerous? Don’t worry, many snakes only use venom because it is a good way to capture prey. This is good news, because it means they would rather not waste it on an animal (you) that they cannot eat.

Today, we know that most snakes are harmless to man, but many people are still afraid of them. Our ancestors had the good sense to treat poisonous snakes with a healthy respect, but also to recognize that all snakes are marvelous creatures. We should learn to do the same.

You can start with a great idea from the Atlanta Zoo. Make your very own stuffed snake from a recycled necktie, so you can practice hanging out with a snake! Feel free to let us know how your craft turns out by posting a photo to our Facebook page!

But as you read your newest issue of Zoobooks, Snakes, you’ll find that snakes can be encountered in far more places than you might at first think. In some places in the world, you might even need to look up into the trees. The paradise flying snake and its relatives have the ability to propel themselves from the tops of the highest trees and flatten out their bodies to glide from tree to tree in pursuit of tree-dwelling lizards. They are rear-fanged snakes and use their mild venom to halt their prey.

There are also snakes that swim in rivers or the ocean as easily as fish. The bodies of sea snakes are less rounded than those of land snakes. Some of them have paddle-shaped tails. They can swim much faster than a human.

Of the 3,000 or so snake species in the world, only about 400 are venomous. Of those, only about 50 are really dangerous to people. It’s important, though, to keep a healthy respect for snakes, who can deliver a bite even when they don’t have venom. Be sure to dress protectively on your next hike!