More than 1 50 photos of Au stralian animals wit h fun facts & easy -t o-f o llow information .
Animal Homes
Welcome to the wonderful world of NATURE WATCH. Ever since I can remember I have loved to watch animals going about their daily lives. All animals need a home, but many of them are at risk of extinction because humans are taking away their homes by cutting down trees and putting up new buildings. Each animal home, or habitat, has groups of animals living in it that all have special diets and behaviour to suit their homes. If their homes are taken away, these animals may not be able to survive anywhere else.
Steve Parish is a passionate promoter of the natural world. He is thrilled that we have so much wildlife in Australia to appreciate and protect, while also having so many secrets left to discover about it. Steve has been photographing nature and the Australian lifestyle for more than 40 years. His company, Steve Parish Publishing, is known throughout the world for its colourful images, striking designs and innovative content.
School teacher, university lecturer, and author, Kerry Kitzelman understands the importance of reading to children. It rewards the child in the early years of schooling and prepares a foundation for reading enjoyment later. As a parent, Kerry knows that reading together is a pleasure for both parent and child and enriches this special relationship. Read to your child at every opportunity. They love it!
By learning all about where animals live and what they eat, you will discover how important all habitats are, including your own backyard!
www.steveparish.com.au
Principal photographer: Steve Parish Additional photography: Graeme Chapman: p. 2 (chicks in nest); Greg Harm/SPP: p. 46 (building a nest box); M & I Morcombe: p. 18 (galah); Ian Morris: pp. 17 (top bilby), 18 (dragonfly), 21 (wallaroo) & 44 (honeyeater); Steve Parish/Les Hall: pp. 8, 9 & 43 (bats); Ron & Valerie Taylor: pp. 28 (box jelly), 31 (sea star), 32 (blue ring octopus), 33 (white shark), 34 (cowrie, sea star & Christmas tree worm), 36 (sea whip) & 37 (moray eels); Clare Thomson/SPP: inside front cover (Steve with dragon)
Š copyright Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd
Text: Kerry Kitzelman, SPP
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Concept design: Thomas Hamlyn-Harris, SPP Design layout: Elise Butler & Leanne Nobilio, SPP Editorial: Cathy Vallance & Michele Perry, SPP Production: Jacqueline Schneider, SPP Colour management: Greg Harm, SPP
ISBN 978174193543 1
Printed in China through Phoenix Offset
First published 2010.
Produced in Australia at the Steve Parish Publishing Studios
Published by Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd PO Box 1058, Archerfield, Queensland 4108 Australia
WOODLAND HOMES
Warm & shady woodland homes Kookaburra
Barking owl
Places that are mostly covered by trees are called woodlands. Animals can find lots of hiding spots in woodlands. They may hide in the tops of the trees, under bark or in the grass and leaf litter on the ground. Possums live high in the tree tops where they search for flowers, fruit and leaves to eat. Geckoes and other lizards scurry about on bark or among shrubs, looking for insects. Kookaburras hunt for animals crawling on the ground during the day, and owls hunt these same animals at night. Brushtail possums Buttery
It’s the small things that matter Many flying and crawling insects carry pollen from flower to flower in the woodland. This helps the flowers make seeds so new trees and other plants can grow. Without insects, woodlands would look very different to the way they do today.
Beetle
Ant
Numbat
Ba ts
Hollow homes r
From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
Gl i de
Bats, possums, gliders, mice, parrots and even numbats shelter in hollows. Tree hollows take a long time to form, so humans shouldn’t cut down old or dead trees because they are special homes for many animals.
Butterfly
RAINFOREST HOMES
Cassowary
Green & leafy rainforest homes Rainforests are places where the forest grows so thick and lush that the tree tops join to form a “canopy” and their leaves block out most of the sunshine. The leafy canopy acts a little like an umbrella except it keeps the moisture inside the forest. Leaf and fruit eaters like possums and tree-kangaroos make their homes in rainforests and are surrounded by food. But life isn’t always easy. They have to be careful not to get caught and eaten by predators. Snakes, especially pythons, are always on the hunt for a tasty meal like a possum or tree-kangaroo.
Green possum
Not so hard to swallow Tree-frog
Lush, wet rainforest is the perfect home for insects of all shapes and sizes. Frogs enjoy these moist surroundings too. They also enjoy the insects, which they regularly swallow whole.
Female (top) and male (bottom) eclectus parrots
S t ri p e d p o s s u m
CrayďŹ sh
Water views can be dangerous Rainforest streams can be dangerous. Many animals risk drowning or being eaten by fish or eels if they fall in the water. Possums and gliders avoid the water and climb or glide from tree to tree to cross rainforest streams. From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
DESERT HOMES Bilby
Hot & dry desert homes Nailtail wallaby
Much of Australia is desert. In some places, the dry red sand stretches out for hundreds of kilometres and may not receive rain for many years. The animals living here have to be tough to survive.
Sand monitor
Wallabies and kangaroos that live in these dry places stay out of the daytime heat. They only come out to feed early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Emus are very hardy birds, but if they come out in the daytime they have to pant to keep cool. Emus
Can you dig it? m Wo
a
Many desert animals, including snakes like the woma python, burrow underground to get away from the hot sun. The bilby also stays underground during the day. It digs its burrows near spinifex bushes where the soil is firmer.
Sometimes in the morning, water droplets called dew form on the ground. Dew may also collect on the thorny devil’s back. Its spiny skin makes the dew run towards its mouth so it can drink.
G
Thorny devil
Waiting for rain Fish like the golden perch can live in muddy desert streams and pools. They won’t lay any eggs until it rains and the water level in their creek or pond begins to rise. From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
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WETLAND HOMES
Watery & wild wetland homes Black-necked stork
Barramundi
Freshwater lagoons, swamps and marshes have all kinds of homes for animals. There are homes above the water, below the surface, on the banks, in the deep and in the shallows. Every animal has special features to suit its home. Swans have webbed feet for paddling in deep water. Their long necks help them reach the bottom to look for food. Storks have long legs to wade through shallow water without getting their feathers wet. Their thick, powerful bills are useful for catching fish. Gudg
Black swans
eon
Under the surface Turtles and fish live under the water, although turtles need to come up to breathe. Crocodiles spend a great deal of time floating at the surface, waiting for their next meal.
The very rare freshwater sawfish uses its long spiky nose to dig freshwater mussels and crayfish out of the mud on the river bottom.
Freshwater sawfish
Murr ay cod
In deep water Many fish live in murky freshwater rivers. The biggest freshwater fish in Australia is the Murray cod. It may grow larger than an adult person – and can weigh twice as much! Sadly, the Murray cod is vulnerable because humans have built dams and taken away too much water from its river home. From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
SEASHORE HOMES
Seadragon
Seahorse
Salty & sunny seaside homes
Penguins
The animals that live where the land meets the sea have to survive in a wet, salty world. Seashores may be sandy, rocky or muddy. Due to tides, which are the rise and fall of the ocean’s water, the seashore may be completely covered with sea water (high tide) or exposed to the hot sun (low tide). Fur-seal
Animals that live on sandy beaches are very different in shape and size to those that swim in the sea, live among the mangroves or cling to the rocks. Each seaside home has its own special group of animals.
Box je
Drifters & suckers Sea animals have learned to move around in different ways. The box jelly uses a pumping action to move as fast as an Olympic swimmer! Others, like some sea stars, use suckers to grip onto and crawl along the sea oor. Some animals drift around and go wherever the ocean takes them!
lly
Pineapplefish
Crayfish
Se
Don’t get washed away In the shallows and rock pools formed by the tides, anemones, sea stars, crabs and small fish find shelter. Many of the animals living here have to cling on tightly to the rocks so they don’t get washed off by the surf when the tide comes back in. From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
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GLOSSARY
ALGAE A type of plant. AMBUSH Hiding to attack by surprise. ATTRACT To draw in; cause something to approach.
HIGH TIDE When the ocean’s water level is at its highest point for the day. INHABIT To live in.
AVOID To keep away from.
LEAF LITTER Dead leaves and other matter from a tree that has fallen onto the ground.
CAMOUFLAGE To blend into the background using colours and shapes.
LOW TIDE When the ocean’s water level is at its lowest point for the day.
CANOPY The leafy branches of trees that form a thick cover over the plants underneath.
MAMMAL A class of animals that all have hair on their bodies and feed their babies milk.
DREY The nest of a possum or glider.
MARINE Relating to the sea.
DRIFTWOOD Wood that floats on, or gets washed up onshore by, water.
NATIVE Belonging to a particular region or country; not introduced.
ECHOLOCATION To sense an object by sending out sounds then listening to the echoes that bounce back off the object.
POLLEN The yellow powdery grains from a flower that are needed to produce more flowers.
EXPOSED Bare or without protection.
RARE Not common.
HABITAT The place where an animal or plant lives or grows.
VULNERABLE Not protected.
From Steve Parish Publishing’s Nature Watch: Animal Homes ~ www.steveparish.com.au
PREDATOR An animal that hunts and eats animals.