Science has always been mystified by the ability of birds to migrate long distances. Now the mystery has deepened—pigeons can sense the position of the moon even when they can’t see it. Before this it has been demonstrated that homing pigeons sense changes in the earth’s magnetic field, can see light waves we can’t, can detect low-frequency sounds miles away, can sense air-pressure changes and identify familiar odors. And now pigeons know where the moon is, even in daylight. How they ...

In January 1493, Christopher Columbus was exploring in a northwestern area of what is now the Dominican Republic. Suddenly he spotted three large sea creatures moving slowly through the waters of a pristine river. It is thought that he was at the shoreline of what is presently called the Rio Yaque del Norte.

Columbus’ excitement over the sighting moved his chronicler to write that the admiral “said he saw three mermaids . . . they were not as beautiful as they are painted though they had...

The Ostrich is the  largest of all birds, standing about eight feet (2.5 m) high, has a small head with big eyes and long lashes. Its eyeball is very large, about two inches (5 cm) in diameter. The eyelashes serve to protect those delicate eyes from the dust of the arid regions and the sandstorms of the desert.

An ostrich has a narrow, bare neck about three feet (1 m) long. It can not fly because of its bodyweight which is an average of  240 pounds (109 kg). However, respect for the bird gro...

The ozone layer is a mixture of gases that forms a blanket covering between the Sun and the earth.

It filters out some of the sun’s heat rays, the “infrared” light. Excess of which from the sun could cause drastic shifts in the earth’s weather. The ozone layer also shields us from most of the sun’s ultraviolet light. The friendly ultraviolet that penetrates in normal sunlight gives many of us vitamin D and a suntan. But overexposure to the rays increases the danger of skin cancer,...