Animal Alphabet: U is for Unicornfish and V is for Vole
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the turn of letters U and V: U is for unicornfish and under the sea. V is for vole, venus flower basket, vermilion flycatcher, viper and viscacha. Can you think of any others? Join us next week as we explore the animals in the Museum beginning … Continue reading Animal Alphabet: U is for Unicornfish and V is for Vole
Studying evolution through the specialisations of burying beetles
Swastika Issar, PhD student, writes: “I’ve always been fascinated by how new species can emerge from the way populations adapt to their local environments. For my PhD, I worked on the burying beetles. These incredible insects turn the carcass of a small vertebrate, such as a bird or a mammal, into an edible nest for their larvae. I was interested in studying how local adaptations … Continue reading Studying evolution through the specialisations of burying beetles
Okapi? Okapi!
The okapi is the only living relative of giraffes and looking closer you can see the similarities. It has camouflaging body patterns, large ears and the males have stout horns above the eyes (ossicones). They even have a similar long, prehensile (meaning that it can grasp things) tongue, just like a giraffe. This helps them to quickly strip leaves from tree branches. They are however, … Continue reading Okapi? Okapi!
Animal Alphabet: T is for Tiger
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the letter T: T is for tiger, tenrec, tusks, tapir, turtles and tortoises, tarsier and tanager? Can you think of any others? Join us next week as we explore the animals in the Museum beginning with the letters U and V – including a brightly coloured … Continue reading Animal Alphabet: T is for Tiger
Parasitic finches mimic their hosts to deceive foster parents
Gabriel Jamie writes: Research recently published in the journal Evolution shows that the nestlings of brood-parasitic finches mimic the appearance, sound and movements of their host’s chicks. Working in the savannas of Zambia, Dr Gabriel Jamie and a team of international collaborators collected images, sounds and videos over four years to demonstrate this striking and highly specialised form of mimicry. The study, funded by The … Continue reading Parasitic finches mimic their hosts to deceive foster parents
Look Copy Make – Fin Whale
Join artist Kaitlin Ferguson as she talks you through how to Look, Copy, and Make with the Museum of Zoology’s fin whale skeleton. You will need: Paper Pens or pencils Scissors Kaitlin’s whale tail template Video of fin whale skeleton: https://youtu.be/CEb2UyXZq_w These activities can be enjoyed by anyone and have been made with young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) in mind. See … Continue reading Look Copy Make – Fin Whale
Animal Alphabet: S is for Sloth
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the letter S: S is for sloth, seahorse, snake, shoebill, startfish, solenodon and starfish? Can you think of any others? Join us next week as we explore the animals in the Museum beginning with the letter T – including something stripy with big teeth… Continue reading Animal Alphabet: S is for Sloth
An Insect A Day Part 11
Have you noticed some of the amazing insect life living around us this summer? Prof Bill Amos of the Department of Zoology has been keeping a photo diary of insects this year. Here it continues with some lovely metallic insects, a stone-like bush cricket, and some fabulous action shots: You can see more of Bill’s photographs on the blog: An Insect A Day for bee … Continue reading An Insect A Day Part 11
Owls
Did you know it was International Owl Awareness Day on Tuesday 4 August? To celebrate this week, here are some of the owls you might be lucky enough to see in the UK. These are truly fascinating animals, with some amazing adaptations for their way of life. So let’s go explore these night-time wonders… Silent Flight Have you every listened to the sound of a … Continue reading Owls
Singapore’s Nature Ways
Stanley Quek, an MPhil student focusing on assessing the effectiveness of the Nature Ways network in Singapore, writes: Singapore is an island country in the biodiverse region of Southeast Asia. Singapore is also a large city, with urban landscapes dominating the island. In the past, Singapore was completely covered with dense primary forests and mangroves, however, much of that has been lost with the development … Continue reading Singapore’s Nature Ways
Summer Butterfly Challenge
We love a good butterfly in the Museum. Find out how to take part in our Summer Butterfly Challenge to feature in our online gallery and enter the prize draw for a Wildlife Explorer Kit. Continue reading Summer Butterfly Challenge
Animal Alphabet: R is for Rhinoceros
Join us every Tuesday as we make an alphabet from the animals in the Museum of Zoology. Today is the letter R: R is for rhinoceros, robin, reindeer, red admiral, raccoon, razorbill and red panda. Can you think of any others? Join us next week as we explore the animals in the Museum beginning with the letter S – including something that moves very slowly… Continue reading Animal Alphabet: R is for Rhinoceros
390 million year old fish
To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month the Museum is sharing the stories of 27 inspirational women, alongside the animals they work with the most. Dr Roz Wade Museum of Zoology “I wasn’t one of those children obsessed with dinosaurs. It was later, at university, that I discovered a love of fossils. I went on to study the Middle Devonian osteolepidid fishes of … Continue reading 390 million year old fish
Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
Roz Wade, Learning Officer at the Museum, writes: It is always fun watching the birds coming to the bird feeders in the garden. We find the fat blocks prove particularly popular. It is lovely to see the robins and blue tits taking a morsel of food, particularly now with new fledglings come to feed, but I get particularly excited when a nuthatch comes to visit. … Continue reading Nuthatch, Sitta europaea
How a weaverbird outsmarts a cuckcoo
To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month the Museum is sharing the stories of 27 inspirational women, alongside the animals they work with the most. Dr Jenny York Department of Zoology “Right now, I am studying the conspicuous nests built by male African weaverbirds. These work marvellously to woo females, who carefully inspect the nests before choosing their favourite and mating with the … Continue reading How a weaverbird outsmarts a cuckcoo
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