Diario de billhubick

This April Fool's Day, I present to you a mix of surprising facts and nonsense for you to sort through. Which of the following are true? Answers will be posted tomorrow.

1. Many turtle species can breathe through their butts.
2. Some specialized snake species can hold their tails in their mouths and roll down hills to surprise their prey.
3. Some species of hummingbirds have been documenting conserving energy during migration by riding on the backs of larger species such as Branta geese and Sandhill Cranes.
4. The Pirate Perch has an anus that moves from where one would expect it to be on a fish to it's throat.
5. Some aquatic mammals and a few rodents lack bones to assist with dynamic movement (strong currents, tight crevices).
6. Shark stomachs have been found containing surprising items, including a suit of armor, a cannonball, and a bottle of wine.
7. A wasp relative called the Cow Killer is known for large swarms' ability to prey upon large herbivore prey.
8. Some spiders can throw balls of web and create pheromones to attract specific insect prey.
9. Arctic Terns migrate from the Arctic to the Antarctic each year. Based on known migrations and lifespan, an individual may fly over a million miles in its lifetime.
10. Snipe populations are much reduced in some regions due to the pastime of collecting them at night using flashlights and large bags.

Bonus (not scored):
11 - Turtles dream in color

Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge this question remains unanswered. Real question - one of my favorites - that I once received from an elementary school class during a presentation. 🙂

Bill

Image generated with AI. Demand that any content generated with AI be labeled as such.

** SPOILER ALERT **

If you haven't sorted yesterday's April Fool's Day quiz and want to sort the surprising facts from the fun nonsense, stop reading and see yesterday's post!

1. TRUE! Many turtles can breathe through their butts. It's a key adaptation for how they survive the winters in our area.
2. FALSE - Hoop snakes! I wish it were true (those in doubt are relieved). Alas, no specialized snake species can hold their tails in their mouths and roll down hills to surprise their prey.
3. FALSE - Also would be cool. Hummingbirds have not been documenting conserving energy during migration by riding on the backs of larger species such as Branta geese and Sandhill Cranes.
4. TRUE! The Pirate Perch has an anus that moves from where one would expect it to be on a fish to it's throat.
5. FALSE - All mammals are vertebrates and have full skeletons. No aquatic mammals or rodents lack bones to assist with specialized movements.
6. TRUE! Shark stomachs have been found containing surprising items, including a suit of armor, a cannonball, and a bottle of wine. There are some good videos, podcasts, and articles summarize findings (here is an example - https://www.sharksider.com/14-weirdest-things-sharks-eaten/).
7. FALSE - The beautiful and native Cow Killer is known for its painful sting ("strong enough to kill a cow!"), but they do not swarm up and attack large mammal prey.
8. TRUE! Bolas spiders throw balls of web, emit pheromones to attract specific prey, and have many other amazing facts.
9. TRUE! Arctic Terns are the world's longest distance avian migrants, migrating from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back each year. Based on known migrations and lifespan, an individual may fly over a million miles in its lifetime.
10. FALSE - Snipe are very real and they are even occasionally hunted, but "snipe hunting" is a popular practical joke to trick the uninitiated into a comical foray into the woods. The hilarious part is that many people then share the punchline that there's no such thing as a snipe! There are totally snipe. They also have wild, zig-zagging flight when flushed, which may be part of the original inspiration for a comically hard hunt.

Bonus (not scored):

• Turtles dream in color. As noted, a real question - one of my favorites - that I once received from an elementary school class during a presentation. I did check if turtles have good color vision, so that's a key thing to know. If they didn't, it would be a long shot that would dream that way.
  My girls asked me if I would drink wine from a bottle found in a shark's stomach, and then quickly noted, yeah, you definitely would. TRUE!

📸: (c) Wilson's Snipe photo by Jim Stasz - Somerset Co., Maryland (2/16/2010). Photographed but not as far as I know captured with a burlap sack.

🔍 Wilson's Snipe at Maryland Biodiversity Project:
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/1070

Bill

Pigeon Guillemots are in! Now is a great time to see (and even hear!) our distinctive breeding alcids around Monterey Harbor. This species is a common nester in the county from Monterey south. Don Roberson noted in "Monterey Birds" (2002) that almost 20% of our population nests under wharves and old buildings in Monterey Harbor and Cannery Row. That is an interesting development as most nests to our south are in rock crevices and burrows! Another surprising thing about our local population is that it appears to migrate north instead of south after the breeding season, heading as far as British Columbia. Fascinating!

📸: (c) Brian Sullivan - Monterey Harbor (4/6/2013)
https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/27363551

Pigeon Guillemot at eBird:
https://ebird.org/species/piggui

Bill

Monterey Audubon on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/monterey.audubon