ENGLISH 5

2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

STORKS

Storks are large birds with long legs, long necks and long beaks (bills).
European storks are white and black. They live for 30 - 40 years.
They like to walk in the water looking for food;
food; frogs,
frogs, fish,
fish, insects,
insects,worms,
worms etc.
Some storks eat dead animals.
Storks are very heavy so they fly by gliding on the warm air currents because
they cannot flap their wings. They migrate; that
that is,
is they spend summer and
winter and different places.
Storks do not sing like other birds. They communicate by making a noise
with their bills.
Stocks build large nests high in trees or on tall buildings; chimneys and towers.
The nests last for many years. Have you ever seen one?
You often see pictures of storks carrying babies. Do you think they really
carry babies?
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

FOXES

The fox is a mammal. A female fox is called a vixen. A male fox is called a dog.
A baby fox is called a cub.
Foxes are members of the dog family but they are similar to cats; they can
climb trees and are mostly active at night. They have big ears (and very good
hearing), long bushy tails and beautiful fur. A fox can run 50 kilometres per
hour.
Foxes usually live about 5 years but can live up to 14 years. They can live
anywhere; in the countryside but also in towns. A fox’s home is called a den.
Foxes are omnivores. They eat mice, rabbits and small birds but also worms,
spiders and berries. They eat many small meals a day and like to hide food
to eat later.
Foxes use over 20 different types of calls to communicate with each other.
Sadly, some people hunt foxes for sport.
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

SPIDERS

Spiders are arachnids, not insects. Spiders have 8 legs; insects have 6.
There are around 40,000 different species of spider. Some are very small and
others can be as big as your hand.
Spiders eat insects. One spider can eat over 2,000 insects a year!
Most spiders make silk. Some silk is sticky in order to catch insects to eat. The
spider injects a substance into the insect to dissolves the animal’s insides.
Then it sucks the liquid through a feeding tube.
Spiders make a nest of silk to protect their eggs. They place the eggs on the
nest and then cover it with more silk to make a soft pocket. Spiders’ silk is
very strong. Abandoned spider webs are called cobwebs.
Fear of spiders is called ‘arachnophobia’. Most spiders do not hurt humans but
a few spider species, such as the black widow, can bite humans and inject
poisonous venom.
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

HEDGEHOGS

Hedgehogs are mammals. They have short ears, a short tail, a long nose, and
hard spines, like needles, covering the top of the body. Adult hedgehogs
have more than 5.000 spines! Hedgehogs measure about 23 cm in length.
Hedgehogs rest in holes (burrows) during the day and come out at night to
look for food; insects and earthworms.
They can hunt at night because they have a good sense of smell and sensitive
whiskers to feel their way in the dark.
Hedgehogs don’t run away from danger. They roll into a ball and stick out
their spines.
During winter, hedgehogs roll up into a ball and hibernate, or sleep for
months; until spring arrives.
Unfortunately, hedgehogs are slow and often you see them squashed by
cars on the road.
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

BATS

Bats are the only mammals who can fly. They have short noses, large ears
and fur.
There are nearly 1.000 different kinds of bats, but only 50 kinds left in Europe.
Bats can be very small: three centimetres long, or big: thirty centimetres long.
Some bats can live for over 20 years.
Most bats are insectivores (insect eaters). They can eat their body weight of
insects in one night. Some bats also eat fruit and even small animals.
Bats sleep upside down in a nesting place called a roost. They are nocturnal
animals; when most other creatures go to their homes for the night, bats go
out. They can find their way in total darkness and silence using echolocation.
Most bats give birth to one or two babies each year.
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

OCTOPUSES

Octopuses are molluscs. They are clever, active creatures, the biggest and
most intelligent of all the invertebrates (animals without backbones).
An octopus has eight “arms” covered with suckers which it uses for moving
around and catching its food.
They stay in caves during the day and come out at night to hunt for crabs,
shellfish, and small fish.
An octopus can spit ink, called sepia. This black cloud of ink hides the octopus
from its enemies.
The common octopus measures only ten centimetres. But there are giant
octopuses too.
The largest octopus ever found was over nine metres!
Did you know that octopuses are related to snails?
ENGLISH 5
2nd term: Animals around us Activity 18: Jigsaw Reading

BEETLES

Beetles are insects. There are 300.000 species of beetle in the world; more
than any other kind of animal.
They have two body parts, six legs and antennae. Many beetles can fly but
you cannot see their wings normally. Their wings are protected by hard
colourful wing covers.
A beetle starts life as an egg, then hatches into a larva. The larva changes into
a pupa, then into an adult beetle. Beetles eat plants and other small insects.
One beetle, the “longhorn” lives in our furniture. The larva of the longhorn
eats the wood and makes tunnels. As it leaves the wood it makes an exit hole.
You can see lots of these holes in old furniture. These holes look like worm
holes, so we call them “woodworm”. But now you know they are actually
made by beetles.
Did you know that Ladybirds are beetles too?