From site: To be truthful, the unfortunate fact about the popularity of dinosaurs is that the science that it is based on occasionally is obscured by the fantasy that surrounds it. Popular art, fiction, and journalism along with actual scientific progress shape the way that the public perceives dinosaur fact and theory. Paleontology is a science, and as such is based on a few basic principles that define what is science and what is not. Keep these principles in mind when the media relays to you the latest wild hypothesis about dinosaurs.

The Featured Creature blog provides stunning photos, videos and information about some of the more unfamiliar animals in our world.

From site: ARKive can be used in a whole range of school science projects – from discovering new species to understanding adaptation, from exploring the world’s most threatened habitats to producing your own food webs. Others have used the ARKive wildlife videos and photos to develop literacy and ICT skills, for creative writing exercises and to inspire poetry or art assignments. Wildlife films and photos are vital weapons in the battle to save the world’s endangered biodiversity from the brink of extinction. So, with the help of the world’s best filmmakers, photographers, conservationists and scientists, ARKive is creating the ultimate multimedia guide to the world’s endangered species.

From site: This is the story of two baby hummingbirds growing up in my garden. The discovery came as an unexpected surprise which just blew me away. I stumbled upon a mossy wad of lichen and cotton fluffs with spiderweb all over it on one of my geranium hanging plants. It was well camouflaged and looked like a knot on one of the branches. This is why it went unnoticed during my weekly deadheading sessions in the garden. Nothing prepared me for what I was about to see after I climbed on a bench to take a closer look. My jaws dropped when I saw two jelly-bean sized eggs in the tiniest nest I have ever seen. I ran into the house, grabbed my camera and began to chronicle the day-to-day development of the baby hummers from egghood to flight.

From site:  Consider what it would feel like to hatch out of your shell, look out on the world with your herring gull eyes and feel some pangs of hunger.  Because you haven’t learned much yet, you must rely on instinctive behavior in order to eat.  You look up at the large bird hovering over you, and you notice it has a large bill with a striking red dot on it.  Something about the dot compels you to peck at it.  You peck and peck and then your parent regurgitates its last meal and feeds it to you. 

The begging behavior is called a fixed behavior.  The fixed behavior typically occurs in response to a simple stimulus, such as the red dot on the parent’s bill.  Fixed behaviors lead to predictable responses and are important because they allow organisms to behavior appropriately even with limited experience.