Falcons:
Arabian Oryx:
Snakes:
Falcons are small to medium-sized birds
of prey related to hawks, eagles,
and vultures. They usually have pointed
wings and long tails.
is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct
shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a
tufted tail.[2] It is a bovid, and the smallest
member of the genus Oryx, native to
desert and steppe areas of the Arabian
Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in
the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved
in zoos and private reserves, and
was reintroduced into the wild starting in
1980.
There are more than 3,000 species of
snakes on the planet and they’re found
everywhere except in Antarctica, Iceland,
Ireland, Greenland, and New Zealand.
About 600 species are venomous, and
only about 200—seven percent—are able
to kill or significantly wound a human.
Most falcons eat small mammals. Some
species hunt other birds, which they take in
flight. Like hawks, most falcons have
dark gray or brown backs and wings,
with white undersides.
The peregrine falcon is found over most of
the world and is famous for hunting birds
by diving down on them at
320 km/h (200 mi/h). It was nearly wiped
out in North America by the use
of pesticides but has since made a
recovery.
In some countries falcons are used in
falconry. This means people catch the
birds and make them hunt for them. Long
ago this was a way for people to get more
food but today it is a sport.
The diets of the Arabian oryx consist
mainly of grasses, but they eat a large
variety of vegetation,
including buds, herbs, fruit, tubers and root
s. Herds of Arabian oryxes follow
infrequent rains to eat the new plants that
grow afterward. They can go several
weeks without water.
Almost all snakes are covered in scales
and as reptiles, they’re cold blooded and
must regulate their body temperature
externally. Scales serve several purposes:
They trap moisture in arid climates and
reduce friction as the snake moves. There
have been several species of snakes
discovered that are mostly scaleless, but
even those have scales on their bellies.
Snakes also have forked tongues, which
they flick in different directions to smell
their surroundings. That lets them know
when danger—or food—is nearby.