Owls have 'nightshine' vision. A layer of cells in an owl's eyes cause them to be glossy or mirror-like and this allows them to capture all of the available light. Owls are able to see in detail where humans see only darkness.
Trees from the mists of prehistory
Trees from the mists of prehistory Although trees can move us towards the future as
they are planted and grow tall, trees can also take us back into
the past, as many species live for hundreds of years. Three such
impressive species of ancient trees are the dawn redwood, the
Ginkgo biloba and the bristlecone pine. The dawn redwood was common
across North America millions of years ago, then it slowly vanished
and was seen only in the fossil records. But. astonishingly, a
small remnant of these trees were found in China in the 1940s and
they have since been widely grown and distributed. They are
deciduous conifer trees with green needles and a tawny reddish
trunk. They grow fast and are big trees, not the tree for a small
garden! The Gingko biloba is considered the most ancient of trees
as it has remained unchanged for over 200 million years. Gingko
trees, like the dawn redwoods, also grew across North America at
one time but then slowly died out. Eventually, they were found only
in China where they were cultivated in sacred groves. The Gingko is
also a large deciduous tree, whose leaves are distinctively
fan-shaped. It is commonly planted along city streets, as it is
very resistant to pollution and car fumes. Gingko biloba is also
called the maidenhair tree". Bristlecone pine trees only grow high
in the Sierra mountains of California. They are coniferous trees,
with soft richly-green needles and very twisted trunks and
branches. Bristlecone pines live longer than other trees. Some
specimens are well over 4,000 years old - meaning that they were
already 1,000 years old when the pyramids were being built in
ancient Egypt! 6 MARCH 1999
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