What is a colony of herons called? A A heronhall B A heronville C A heronry Great blue herons nest in colonies called ‘heronries’ that can feature as many as 500 nests, usually placed high in tree branches. The helpful male heron shown here is presenting his mate with nesting material—making him an apt mascot … Read more
Great blue herons are… A Omnivorous B Herbivorous C Carnivorous While great blue herons mainly eat small fish, the large birds will eat most anything within striking distance, from insects to amphibians to small mammals. They usually swallow prey whole. The correct answer is Carnivorous.
‘The War of the Worlds’ was a science fiction novel that depicted an invasion of England by aliens from Mars. Who wrote the book? A H. G. Wells B Orson Welles C Jules Verne The English writer H. G. Wells wrote ‘The War of the Worlds,’ one of the first stories of its kind. It … Read more
What was the name of the first space probe sent to study Mars? A Juno B Cassini C Mariner The Mariner 4 probe was launched on November 28, 1964. The event is commemorated by Red Planet Day, observed every November 28. Mariner 4 completed the first flyby mission of Mars, sending back close-up photos of … Read more
One of the brightest objects in our night sky can be easily seen with the naked eye. What are we looking at? A Mars B Venus C Jupiter Mars is the fourth planet from the sun, after Mercury, Venus, and Earth. Although Venus is closer, Mars has more in common with Earth. Mars and Earth … Read more
Sunflowers are just one place in nature to spot a Fibonacci spiral. Two of these are examples—which one is not? A Seashells B The shape of galaxies C Porcupine spikes The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, and the nautilus shell is one of many spiral shells. Hurricanes, ferns, and spiderwebs also feature Fibonacci spirals. … Read more
The Fibonacci sequence is based on… A Square roots B Multiplication C Addition The Fibonacci sequence uses addition to determine its numbers. To form the sequence, you simply add together the previous two numbers to get the next number: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc. Or just look closely at a … Read more
The spirals on this sunflower follow what number sequence? A Fibonacci sequence B Riemann zeta function C Bernoulli numbers The gorgeous sunflower displays its seeds in two spirals that twist and curve in opposite directions. If you mapped either of those spirals on a graph, they would closely follow the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, … Read more
What was Basil Brush’s catchphrase? A Yeah! B Lovely jubbly! C Boom Boom! A staple of British children’s television for decades, Basil Brush was designed in 1962 for an ITV television series and was voiced by Ivan Owen until his death in 2000. Owen is said to have modelled his voice on the actor Terry-Thomas. … Read more
Our fox friend today can be found at the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen Nature Reserve. What’s special about this location? A A bridge for wildlife B A natural filtration system C A rare-plant garden Aside from being a place for plants and animals to thrive, the Waterleidingduinen or ‘water supply dunes’ are responsible for filtering rain that … Read more