Bullfrog

The bullfrog, the largest frog native to the United States, receives its name from its call, a deep thrum similar to the bellowing of a bull, that it uses to attract a mate. It is highly predatory, feeding on smaller frogs, worms, insects, and crustaceans, and since its introduction to the British Isles, it has caused considerable damage to wildlife there.

Michael P. Gadomski/Photo Researchers, Inc./Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Steven R. Pantle. All rights reserved.

Social Structure of Elephant

Elephants are social animals and associate in small troupes for protection from predators. Each elephant family unit is led by the dominant female, or matriarch. When threatened, the members of the troupe surround the calves to protect them from danger, the matriarch either confronting the danger, or the group retreating in a tight unit.

Oxford Scientific Films/Hollywood Edge

Great Horned Owl

Great Horned Owl

Nocturnal hunting requires no colourful plumage, so most owls—both male and female—match the dull brown, daytime camouflage of this great horned owl, Bubo virginianus. Smaller birds that spot a resting owl may mob it, drawing attention to its concealed perch. Other small animals are thus warned of the powerful talons and formidable 200 cm (80 in) wingspan of the nearby owl. A great horned owl keeps its food supply away from competitors (of both the same and different species) by defending a territory.

Stan Osolinski/Oxford Scientific Films/Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All rights reserved.

European Cicada

Suited to hot regions, cicadas are common around the Mediterranean where the males "sing" from June until the end of August to attract females. The "singing" is in fact buzzing or shrilling sounds made with the help of two drum-like membranes (cymbals) on the sides of the male’s abdomen.

Dr. Frieder Sauer/Okapia/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Cicada

The cicadas are related to the aphids and leafhoppers. The cicadas have 13- and 17-year life cycles. All but about one month of a cicada’s life is spent underground, where the larval stage, called a nymph, feeds on sap from tree roots. All of the nymphs of a particular species emerge from the ground at the same time, moult, feed, mate, and die.

Dorling Kindersley/BBC Natural History Sound Library. All rights reserved.

Red Howler Monkey

This young red howler, Alouatta seniculus, has not yet grown and may never get the long black beard its elders wear. A new male that moves in to dominate a troop often kills young members already present. Despite this seemingly counterproductive breeding strategy, the howler monkey is one of the most widely distributed New World primates. It is successful largely because of its ability to survive on nutrient- and sugar-poor leaves, a diet more abundant than that of other species.

Aldo Brando Leon/Oxford Scientific Films/BBC Natural History Sound Library. All rights reserved.

Mountain Zebra

The mountain zebra is found in two mountainous areas of southwestern Africa where there is abundant vegetation. All other zebra species are found in more arid parts of Africa where vegetation is sparser. The black-and-white striped pattern of the zebra provides disruptive coloration (coloration that breaks up the body outline), making it difficult for a predator to single out an individual zebra while it is running with other animals in the herd.

Michael Fogden/Oxford Scientific Films/Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All rights reserved.

Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker (Species Sporlight)

Laughing Kookaburra

Its "laugh" is only one distictive feature of the kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae. An anomaly in a family of fish eaters, it prefers insects, small mammals, and reptiles. Its beak, however, has the characteristic top-to-bottom flattening of other kingfishers. Kookaburras also differ from most of their closest relatives in their mating strategy. Adult offspring become helpers for a mating pair, assisting their parents in feeding and defending the new broods.

Tom Ulrich/Oxford Scientific Films/Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All rights reserved.

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnake

Rattlesnakes are members of the pit viper family. The pit vipers range in length from about 38 cm (15 in) to about 1.5 m (5 ft). All species in this family produce a venom with two distinct poisons. The first contains a heart-lung depressant, the second a tissue-disintegrating agent. Rattlesnakes are ovoviviparous—the young hatch from eggs inside the female. Rattlesnakes have a rattle-like structure at the tip of their tail, which is shaken when the snake is threatened or about to strike.

Dorling Kindersley/BBC Natural History Sound Library. All rights reserved.

Massasauga Rattlesnake 

The massasauga rattlesnake thrives in seasonally wet prairies and forest edges from northern Mexico to south-eastern Canada. The massasauga has become an endangered species because its habitat is threatened by human activity.

Rod Planck/Photo Researchers, Inc.

European Nightingale

The European nightingale is one of 340 species of thrushes found throughout the world. The nightingale, like other thrushes, is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, insects, and small invertebrates.

Tony Tilford/Oxford Scientific Films/BBC Natural History Sound Library. All rights reserved.

Dolphin Surfacing for Air

Bottlenose Dolphins

Dolphin Research Institute, Inc

Dolphin - The Oracles of the Sea

Speeches by Newton L. Gingrich  

As a dolphin swims, it breaks the surface of the water every few minutes to breathe through a blowhole on the top of its head. Dolphins inhabit all the world’s oceans, using their streamlined bodies to reach underwater speeds of 40 km/hr (25 mph). This swimming ability, combined with sharp teeth, enables dolphins to capture fish and squid, their principal prey.

Stuart Westmorland/ALLSTOCK, INC./Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All rights reserved.