Storks are large wading birds with long legs, necks, and bills. There are 17 species of stork. The most famous type is the white stork. In some European countries it is said to bring good luck. Storks are related to herons, ibises, flamingos, and vultures. Storks live in Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas and Australia.
Storks usually stand about 0.6 to 1.5 meters tall. The largest stork is the marabou, which feed on carrion. Most storks eat insects, frogs, fish, and other small animals.
The stork is a migratory bird, traveling very long distances to relocate seasonally. Storks are monogamous and almost always stay in pairs.
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The leopard is a wild cat of Africa and Asia, known for its spotted coat. Its scientific name is Panthera pardus. Leopards are sometimes called panthers.
An average leopard weighs between 50 to 90 kilograms and is about 2 meters long, not including the long tail, which can reach a length of up to 1 meter. Most leopards have yellow fur on the back and white fur underneath. Dark spots cover much of the body. The leopard called the black panther has a black coat on which the spots barely show.
Leopards can live in forests, deserts, grasslands, mountains, and rocky places. They are great climbers and good swimmers.
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Strawberries are red, heart-shaped fruits. They are eaten fresh and are also used as a filling for pastries, pies, and cakes. Strawberries are a very popular dessert fruit.
Strawberry plants are grown in Americas, Canada, a number of European countries, parts of Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan. It is a low herb plant. The flowers are mostly white and sometimes reddish. At the top of the plant is the crown, which sends out trailing vines that spread over the ground.
Strawberries are rich in vitamin C, iron, and other minerals.
Botanists do not consider strawberries to be true berries. Strawberries are actually groups of small fruits that form from a single flower.
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The sun is the star at the center of the solar system. It is a hot ball of gases that gives off great amounts of energy. Life on Earth depends on light and heat from the sun, which is about 150 million kilometers away from our planet.
The sun is the largest object in the solar system. Its diameter is about 1,392,000 kilometers, 109 times bigger than Earth’s diameter. The Sun weighs 333 thousand times larger than the Earth.
The sun consists mostly of hydrogen and helium. Its core probably reaches about 15,600,000° C. The surface temperature is about 6,000° C. The outer atmosphere is called the corona and its temperature reaches 2,000,000° C.
Every second the sun burns more than 600 million tons of hydrogen fuel into helium.
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Wheat is one of the oldest and most important grain. It is a major source of nutrients for people. It is an important ingredient of many breads, pastries, and pastas.
The wheat plant is a kind of grass with long slender leaves. There are thousands of kinds of wheat. Wheat plants grow to between 0.6 and 1.5 meters tall. The top part of the plant is made up of a number of flowers, which form groups called “spikelets”. The flowers produce grains that are used as food.
Wheat was first grown on farms about 9,000 years ago in the Euphrates River valley of the Middle East. In ancient Egypt the people buried some wheat with the pharaohs. Today China, India, and the United States are leading wheat producers.
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The nightingale is a small, plain-looking bird with a great voice. Many people think its highly varied, musical songs are wonderful. They are also able to imitate other birds and animals. Sometimes people call other birds with musical songs nightingales. But most often the name refers to the Eurasian nightingale. This songbird is in the same family as thrushes, robins, and bluebirds.
Nightingales live in the woodlands of Europe and western Asia. They fly to warmer central Africa for the winter. In the forest areas of the mountains of Switzerland nightingales meet at an altitude of 1000 meters. And in Spain they can be seen already at an altitude of about 2000 meters.
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The potato is one of the main food crops of the world. It grows well in cool climates. The potato belongs to the nightshade family of plants, which also includes eggplant, tomatoes, and garden peppers. The scientific name of the potato is Solanum tuberosum. It is not related to the sweet potato.
The potato plant can grow to 50 to 100 centimeters high. It has white, purple, violet, or lilac flowers depending on the variety of plant. The stems of the potato plant grow underground and the ends of the stems thicken to form potatoes. The potatoes have eyes that can grow into new potato plants.
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