Animal Guides / Animal behavior and science
Animal behavior and science
Migration, camouflage, echolocation, animal intelligence, communication and how scientists classify life.
Why do birds fly thousands of miles every year? How does a bat find insects in total darkness? Can a crow solve a puzzle? This section explains the science behind the behavior.
ScienceAnimal intelligenceTool-making crows, puzzle-solving octopuses, dolphins that recognize themselves and parrots that understand categories. What scientists mean by animal intelligence and how they test it.
ScienceAnimal migrationWhy animals travel thousands of miles, the record-breaking journeys of terns, godwits, whales and wildebeest, and the senses they use to find their way.
ScienceEcholocation explainedBats, dolphins, whales and a few birds and small mammals "see" with sound. Learn how echolocation works, which animals use it and how some prey fight back.
ScienceHow animals communicateWaggle dances, alarm calls, whale songs, scent trails, color displays and body language. How animals share information with sound, sight, smell and touch.
ScienceHow camouflage worksBackground matching, disruptive patterns, countershading, mimicry and color change. Learn the main types of camouflage, with animal examples for each.
ScienceTaxonomy explainedHow scientists name and classify living things, from domain and kingdom down to genus and species, why scientific names use Latin, and how DNA has reshaped the tree of life.