These fairly large birds are becoming more and more common in Massachusetts as the breed expands its range northward, but were first seen here in the 1970s.

The American winter ant isn’t called that for nothing. It prefers lower temperatures – all the way down to 35 degrees Fahrenheit – for its workers to forage outside the nest when most other ants are dormant.

It is not too surprising that farmers in the 1800s and 1900s hated these birds – they were an agricultural pest John James Audubon proposed calling the fruit-devourer.

Did you know there are flying squirrels in Cambridge? If you haven’t seen one, it’s probably because flying squirrels are nocturnal. If you have, it might be because the squirrel visits your bird feeder at night.

Ben Franklin experimented with killing chickens and turkeys with electricity using devices called Leyden jars, which he found made fowl meat “eat uncommonly tender.”

Do screech owls actually screech? To many people, that’s not their sound – and there are also misconceptions about owls’ ears, as well as surprises about their sight.

If you should happen to see a bold jumping spider inside your cellar or on your lawn furniture, let it be; it is shy and harmless, will most likely run or jump away if it detects you, and can help control insect pests.

The wood duck is among the most colorful and beautiful of waterfowl. We are lucky to have them after land clearing by early settlers and commercial hunting in the 1800s.

Although hunters kill more than 20 million to 70 million mourning doves every year, they are prolific breeders. The United States still has more than 400 million of a bird once mistaken frequently for the now extinct passenger pigeon.

No passengers were hurt when a Delta flight out of Boston on Oct. 5 ran into some birds on takeoff, but this kind of incident hasn’t always had such good outcomes.