Why Are Some Eggs Brown and Some Eggs White?

There is more than one kind of chicken.  Some have white feathers and others have red or brown feathers.  The white chickens lay white eggs.  The red or brown chickens lay brown eggs.  Brown eggs often cost more because the red and brown chickens eat more food than the white chickens. 

Which color of egg do you like more?  Which color of chicken do you prefer?

Compare one brown egg with one white egg.  Do they weigh the same?  Does one cook faster?  Do you notice a difference in flavor?  The food the chickens are fed will affect the taste too.

Why don't ducks freeze in the winter?

Photo by Derek Ramsey from Wikimedia.

Ducks have several traits that let them live in snowy weather, as  long as they can find food and water. 

Ducks have a special blood system that helps keep them warm on cold ground.  Warm blood leaving the duck's heart heats up cold blood coming from the duck's feet.  The paths for the warm blood and the cold blood come very close to each other.  This is called countercurrent blood flow.  It keeps the duck warm in the middle and the head, where it matters most. 

Ducks also have a lot of fat and feathers to keep them warm, just like a jacket.  Most of a duck's organs (like the heart and lungs) and muscles are under the fat and feathers.

Why do owl ears look like feathers?

Photo by Ian Britton at Freefoto.com.

Owls are birds and they have feathers that cover up their ears.  Some owls have feathers that even stand up and look just like ears!  The feathers on an owl's face make a circle called a facial disc that funnels even more sound to the owl's ears.  If you could see the owl without any feathers, you would see that its ears are not even!  One ear is higher than the other one.  This lets owls hear sounds coming from up high and down low easier. 

Owls have such great hearing that they can hear a mouse squeak from half a mile away!

Try holding your hand or a cup up around your ear.  You might be able to hear sounds louder, just the way an owl's facial disc helps it to hear sounds louder.

Can owls see in the dark?

Photo by Ian Britton at FreeFoto.com.

Yes, and so can people!  However, owls have large, sensitive eyes that can see little pieces of light 100 times better than people.  Outside, at night, it may seem completely dark to you, but an owl will see the tiniest bit of light and find things you cannot find.  Their great hearing also helps them find food in the dark. 

Did you know that owls may not see color?  What would the world look like if everything you saw was black, white, or gray?

Do penguins live on the water?

Photo by Kristin De More at FreeFoto.com.

Sometimes.  All penguins travel to land (some on icebergs and others on nice warm islands) to have babies.  There are many different kinds of penguins.  Some penguins always sleep on land and others spend most of the year (up to 3/4 of their life) on the water.  Penguins swim, fish, play, and sleep on the water.  They can fall asleep while they are floating on their backs.  While they are in the water they need to watch out for leopard seals, sharks, and orcas (or killer whales) because those animals like to eat penguins.