Dall sheep animals

The Dall sheep is mammal animals. Also known as thinhorn, dall sheep are the northernmost wild sheep in the world. Their horns take up to 8 years to grow and are composed of keratin, the same material as our fingernails. The age of the sheep can be calculated from the number of growth rings on their horns. Dall sheep spend most of their lives on the jagged slopes of mountains. Their cloven hooves with rough pads help them cling to cliff edges and broken ledges, where they flock to elude predators. In spring and early summer, dall sheep often visit mineral licks to restore the nutrients they lost during the long winter.Habitat Dry mountainous regions and select sub-alpine grass and low shrub terrains; Arctic, Subarctic: most of Alaska, the Yukon Territory, extreme northwest and north-central British Columbia.

Bank Swallow

The Bank Swallow is a small, slender song bird. In its typical adult appearance, the bird is white on the underneath and brown on top of its feather coat, with a dark band running across and extending all the way down to the middle of its chest. It has a small bill and supports long wings of about 25-29 cm which help it during flight. They are usually 12-14 cm in length, and weigh around 10-19 grams. Traditionally, Bank Swallows nest in colonies along the streamside banks of North America, but they can also be found across Europe and Asia. The British name for Bank Swallows is Sand Martin and is commonly used across Britain; other Spanish and French names for the bird are also commonly used in the respective countries.

Since they live in low areas mostly around rivers, streams, ocean coasts or reservoirs, the territories they are found in are vertical cliffs or banks. Here they nest in colonies which include up to 20,000 nests. In the past, Bank Swallow bird was commonly found around natural bluffs or on the streamside. However, with the seemingly increased eroding, the Bank Swallows have re-located their colonies to more man-made sites like quarries made out of sand or gravel, or road cuts. These locations offer the same support as a vertical cliff and allow for stability of their nests. As you can see in bank swallow pictures, these nests are very carefully made and placed. Each nest is made in such a way that it forms a chamber. The male member uses his small, cone shaped bill along with feet and wings to dig burrows which are perpendicular to the ground level and go about 25 inches into the side of the banks. These burrows eventually lead to the nest chamber, as the male widens them upwards and from both sides in such a way that constant temperatures can be maintained inside the burrow. Then the female member builds the nest by constructing a mat of straw, grasses, leaves, or rootlets that she collects from around the banks. This mat is 1 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter to offer support and firmness. Since the Bank Swallows make nests in large colonies, they do it around fairly loose soils so that it is easy to burrow in. Similarly, these areas are located near water bodies so that there is vertical space for the birds to fly. It is one of the interesting bank swallow facts that every individual chooses a colony first, then a nest location within that colony area. Interestingly, it is the male that digs the burrow before it has a mate. It is only then that a female hovers itself over the burrow she chooses and then mates with the male in that nest site. The Bank Swallows carefully choose a location that is in the upper third part of the bank so that few ground predators can attack them. They mostly eat insects like bees, wasps, ants, butterflies or moths. Since they live near water, it is easy for the Bank Swallows to catch food. They fly at a height of about 50 ft above open water or ground and catch insects, and then feed either singly or with large groups from their colonies. Bank Swallows have a set of distinctive behavior that instantly distinguishes them from other such bird species. These include the seemingly different pattern of flying with shallow, fluttery wing beats. They glide for 2 seconds but have a less twisty and straighter flight than other Swallows. Bank Swallows are 

Dragonfly

Insect. Dragonflies first lived 300 million years ago, and predate dinosaurs by more than 100 million years and birds by some 150 million. They had wingspans up to 61 centimeters 24 inches. Dragonflies spend only a very short part of their lives as flying insects. Instead they live as nymphs  for up to four years, shedding their skin as much as fifteen times, finally maturing into adults who will survive only a few months. They can fly up to 97 kilometers 60 miles per hour and are able to make lightning stops and starts, and instant right-angle turns. Insect. Dragonflies first lived 300 million years ago, and predate dinosaurs by more than 100 million years and birds by some 150 million. They had wingspans up to 61 centimeters 24 inches. Dragonflies spend only a very short part of their lives as flying insects. Instead they live as nymphs wingless, immature form for up to four years, shedding their skin as much as fifteen times, finally maturing into adults who will survive only a few months. They can fly up to 97 kilometers 60 miles per hour and are able to make lightning stops and starts, and instant right-angle turns.