fact for 1 March 2009

The smallest bird in India is the Pale-Billed Flowerpecker.

The largest pearl ever found in an oyster was 620 carats.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in Australia has 4 main species which do not vary much except in the overall size of the bird and the size and shape of their crest. Galerita Galerita , Galerita Fitzroyi , Galerita Triton , Galerita Eleonora. All birds in the species are white with yellow markings on their crest, ear, tail and parts of their "underfeathers"

fact for 28 feb 09

The Giant Australian Cuttlefish (Sepia apama)is found in waters from less than a metre deep to probably around 100 m off Southern and eastern Australia.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

fact for 27 feb 09

Yabbies, are a type of inland freshwater crayfish found in Australia. They are a crustacean. Scientific name is "Cherax destructor". They live in dams, waterholes, billabongs, creeks, etc- (inland "still" waters) of mainland Australia. Originally they were native to the Darling and Murray river. They house themselves in small tunnels that they dig into the sides of the waterhole, dam etc .

The panda's diet consists of about 95% bamboo.

The Big Four are the most venomous snakes in India.

The big four are Indian Cobra, Common Crait, Rusell's Viper and Saw scaled viper.

fact for 26 feb 09

Crown of Thorns Seastars are not just found in Australia, but in Australia they are found on the Great Barrier Reef .These echinoderms (star shaped animals) eat all live coral in their path, and are drastically reducing the size of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The Crown-of-thorns are most active in summer and are the only known venomous sea star.

The Starfish can actually pull open a shell.

fact for 25 feb 09

A newborn kangaroo is about the size of a coffee bean.

It takes 15 facial muscles to laugh.

India contains 60% of the world's tigers.

24 feb 09

Some hamsters only blink one eye at a time.

What is a Goanna Early white settlers saw these creaturers and thought they were a type of "Iguana" (which is the Guyana Indian name for Lizard) and over the years this word transformed into the present word GOANNA. Goanna's are in reality"Monitor Lizards" of which Australia has 20 of the 30 species found worldwide. One of the most common Goannas in Australia is the SAND MONITOR .

fact for 23 feb 2009

India is home to about 200 million cows.

Thailand is called the land of smile but the meaning of the word Thailand is land of the free.

The Mallee Fowl is a Megapod and a large  bird. Their name "Mallee" comes from the main district where they are found, (North East Victoria, Australia) which is also the name to describe the eucalypt woodland in the region(ie. Mallee Scrub) . The Mallee Fowl is a large bird (even plump looking) around 15 kg on average and up to 600mm in length .