# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When a flamingo spots potential dinner-favorite foods include shrimp, snails, and plantlike water organisms called algae-it plunges its head into the water, twists it upside down, and scoops the fish using its upper beak like a shovel. They are able to "run" on water, thanks to their webbed feet, to gain speed before lifting up into the sky.

Flamingos build nests that look like mounds of mud along waterways. At the top of the mound, in a shallow hole, the female lays one egg. The parents take turns sitting on the egg to keep it warm. After about 30 days, the egg hatches.

Flamingo young are born white, with soft, downy feathers and a straight bill. The bill gradually curves downward as the flamingo matures. Both parents take care of the newborn flamingo, feeding it a fluid produced in their digestive systems. The young leave the nest after about five days to join other young flamingos in small groups, returning to the parents for food. The parents identify their chick by its voice. After about three weeks, the adults herd young flamingos into large groups called crèches where they start to look for food on their own.

Most flamingo species are not endangered, although the Andean flamingo is listed as vulnerable, and the Chilean, Lesser, and Puna flamingos are near threatened.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Flamingos are famous for their bright pink feathers, stilt-like legs, and S-shaped neck. When a flamingo spots potential dinner-favorite foods include shrimp, snails, and plantlike water organisms called algae-it plunges its head into the water, twists it upside down, and scoops the fish using its upper beak like a shovel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Christmas Island red crabs are famous throughout Australia and the world for their bright red color and for their spectacular annual migration to the sea. Millions of crabs become rivers of red as they move from the island's interior rainforests to the ocean to breed and lay eggs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The beluga, or white whale, is one of the smallest species of whale. Their distinctive color and prominent foreheads make them easily identifiable.

Unlike most other whales, the beluga has a very flexible neck that enables it to nod and turn its head in all directions.

Belugas generally live together in small groups known as pods. They are social animals and vocal communicators using a diversified language of clicks, whistles, and clangs. Belugas can also copy a variety of other sounds.

These whales are common in the Arctic Ocean's coastal waters, though they are found in subarctic waters as well. Arctic belugas migrate southward in large herds when the sea freezes over.

Belugas feed on fish, crustaceans, and worms.

The whale is related to the tusked "unicorn" whale known as the narwhal.

The beluga is not related to the sturgeon of the same name, which has been heavily fished for its famous caviar.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The beluga, or white whale, is one of the smallest species of whale. Their distinctive color and prominent foreheads make them easily identifiable. Unlike most other whales, the beluga has a very flexible neck that enables it to nod and turn its head in all directions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Lonely deer

For many members of the deer family, fall means it's time to find a mate. That includes its largest species, the moose. Males of this usually solitary animal-which ranges across the northern United States (including Alaska), Canada, and northern Europe -look for females from September to mid-October.

Resting birds

As birds fly south for the winter, many species make pit stops on their journey. For instance, eared grebes take a break after traveling from places such as Oregon and Colorado. They gather by the thousands at Mono Lake in California and the Great Salt Lake in Utah to eat and shed their feathers. Other birds that take rest stops before continuing south include gulls, ducks, and shorebirds. Many birds rest and feed at these places, returning to the same spots each year.

Fat bears

In fall, North American bear species start a process called hyperphagia, eating and drinking as much as they can to gain weight for their long winter hibernation. Gaining so much weight would be unhealthy for people, but scientists have found that grizzly bears are specially adapted to hibernate.

Hungry ladybugs

Many of the approximately 5,000 species of ladybugs-such as multicolored Asian lady beetles, which are invasive in North America-will fatten up on thousands of aphids and soft-bodied prey as fall arrives, says Mike Raupp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland. (An entomologist is someone who studies bugs.)

After this feast, the insects gather in a big group to wait out the long winter. Some prefer to hunker down in the cracks of rocks. Others will gather on the sides of houses. Predators usually don't notice this ladybug heap, but if they do-and ignore their bright warning colors-watch out! The insects might turn to reflex bleeding, in which smelly bug blood called hemolymph seeps out of their "knees" to give the predator a mouthful of yuck.

"Hibernating" bird

While other birds fly south for the winter, the common poorwill of western North America and Mexico is having a "stay-cation."

These nighttime fliers are the only bird species known to go into a torpor-sort of like hibernation. They bring their body temperature down to 41˚F, then "hibernate" the way they nest: on the ground, where their mottled brown camouflage makes them almost invisible. Like mammals, they weigh the most before they go into their torpor. One researcher found the average poorwill torpor is about five days-but one especially sleepy bird slumbered for 45!
Text from "Fascinating ways animals prepare for fall" by Liz Langley for National Geographic News; adapted for Nat Geo Kids by Laura Goertzel

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fascinating ways animals prepare for winter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When fall arrives, people start pulling out their sweaters and snuggling up inside. Many animals also start preparing for winter. The shorter days signal critters from deer to birds to bears that it's time to gather food and find mates. Check out some animals that get busy when the leaves begin to fall.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Not far from the North Pole, the world is frozen for thousands of miles. Suddenly a snowy mound wiggles and reveals two dark eyes. The lump is transformed into the furry white body of a lone arctic fox. The canine casually shakes the blanket of snow off her thick coat-the key to her survival. But warm fur alone might not keep this fox alive during the polar winter, when temperatures rarely get above zero degrees Fahrenheit. Until spring arrives, this arctic fox will rely on some freeze-defying strategies, making it a champion of the cold.

BUILT FOR THE ARCTIC

Arctic foxes live on the land and sea ice within the Arctic Circle. Winter in the Arctic is unlike winter in most parts of the world. From October to February, the sun never rises to shine warmth and light.

Luckily, these small foxes have some useful adaptations for living in the icy Arctic. Their thick fur coat keeps the fox's body at a toasty 104°F. Their long, fluffy tails act like a blanket, keeping the fox warm when it wraps the tail around its body to sleep.

Their feet also have a layer of thick fur, like built-in snow boots. This helps muffle an arctic fox's footsteps, making it harder for prey to hear them. And their white coats make it difficult for predators such as wolves, polar bears, and golden eagles to spot them among the ice and snow.

FINDING FOOD

When it's not trying to keep warm or avoid predators, an arctic fox is on the hunt for food. They prefer to eat small rodents called lemmings, but when times are tough they'll eat whatever they can find: insects, berries, and even the droppings of other animals. Sometimes an arctic fox will follow a polar bear on a hunting trip and eat the bear's leftovers.

If a fox can't find food, or if the weather gets really bad, it can dig a snow den and hunker down for up to two weeks. As long as a fox is warm, it can slow down its heart rate and metabolism, which helps the animal save energy so it doesn't have to eat as much. It's sort of like how bears hibernate, but for a shorter period of time.

Once the animal emerges from its den, it'll try to hunt again. With food in its belly, the arctic fox has a better chance of making it through another long, dark winter.

ARCTIC FOX FAST FACTS

* An arctic fox can smell a seal den a mile away.

* Arctic foxes can be white, brown, or even blueish-gray. Its color depends on the time of year.

* Arctic fox dens are used for generations-some are as old as 300 years.

* These foxes have small ears. That reduces heat loss because less is exposed to the cold.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not far from the North Pole, the world is frozen for thousands of miles. Suddenly a snowy mound wiggles and reveals two dark eyes. The lump is transformed into the furry white body of a lone arctic fox. The canine casually shakes the blanket of snow off her thick coat-the key to her survival.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Animal Adaptations | Science For Kids | Periwinkle