All About Animals

Question: What is the name for the family of small birds that can hover?

Answer: Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds. They beat their wings rapidly, allowing them to hover over nectar-rich plants.

Question: The tallest land creature is the:

Answer: The giraffe is the tallest land animal. It can reach heights of 20 feet (6 meters).

Question: What is the hardest tissue in a mammal’s body?

Answer: In mammals, an outer layer of enamel, which is wholly inorganic and is the hardest tissue in the body, covers part or all of the crown of the tooth.

Question: In what geological period did birds evolve?

Answer: Birds first appear in the Jurassic fossil record, beginning about 200 million years ago. Scientists believe that birds descended from small dinosaurs.

Question: Which group of birds migrates the farthest when measured by body length?

Answer: The tiny Rufous hummingbird travels from Alaska to Mexico, the longest migration of any bird when measured by body length.

Question: On what continent did horses evolve?

Answer: Horses evolved in North America about 60 million years ago. They crossed into Asia on land bridges in the fairly recent past—perhaps 10,000 years ago.