The migratory behavior of the yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) is unusual among woodpeckers in eastern North America. Visible evidence that it lives in Arkansas is present year-round, although the species typically is seen here mostly between October and April. Spring and summer reminders of the activity of the bird remain as a series of holes pecked into selected trees.

Plants use a variety of means to successfully reproduce, but the most common is the production of seeds. Once pollination and fertilization have occurred, a plant begins to develop both its seeds and their protective coatings, but dispersal of those seeds can be a problem.

Though differently applied in modern medicine, leeches still aid in problems of blood and healing.

Two species of box turtles can be found in Arkansas.  A subspecies of the three-toed box turtle (Terrepene carolina triunguis) occurs statewide, but its name sometimes misrepresents its anatomy. Typically, these box turtles have three toes on their hind feet, but occasionally a specimen can be found that has four. More restricted to prairie habitats, the ornate box turtle (Terrepene ornata) is found at only a few sites in the state. Its shell has a much brighter and more detailed pattern than the three-toed box turtle.

When someone buys cooked chicken, or when a family gathers around a Thanksgiving turkey, the question often is asked, “White meat or dark meat?” Some people have a preference, but most do not realize the question really asks if the person has a preference for muscles used for running (dark meat) or muscles used for flight (white meat).

The leaves of most plants appear to be green, due to a pigment molecule called chlorophyll. To capture the energy needed for photosynthesis, molecules of chlorophyll absorb much of the wavelengths that make up the spectrum of a rainbow, with the exception of green.  Those wavelengths we perceive as green are reflected from the leaves, so the leaves appear to be green because those wavelengths reach our eyes.