🏡 Backyard and town animal reports, grades 3–4
18 sheets, one animal each, so every child in a group gets a different one. Pick another set or one animal.
My report: the ruby-throated hummingbird
Archilochus colubris · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3 to 3.5 in (7.5 to 9 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 0.11 to 0.12 oz (3 to 3.5 g) |
| Top speed | 60 mph (97 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 5 to 9 years |
Read about it
A hummingbird can hover in one place and even fly backwards. It sips nectar with a long tongue that reaches deep into flowers. The male ruby-throated hummingbird has a shiny red throat that flashes in the sun.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/media/ruby-throated-hummingbird-10, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Northeast Temperate Network, nps.gov/articles/netn-species-spotlight-ruby-throated-hummingbird.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/story/2024-08/august-2024-bird-month-ruby-throated-hummingbird, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the honey bee
Apis mellifera · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 0.12 to 0.5 years |
Read about it
A hive has one queen, who lays the eggs, and many worker bees, who do every other job: cleaning, building wax comb, guarding and collecting food. When a worker finds good flowers, she does a waggle dance that tells the others which way to fly and how far.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- USDA, Pollinator Facts (National Pollinator Week factsheet), usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pollinator-week-factsheet-final.pdf, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the monarch butterfly
Danaus plexippus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 2.8 to 3.9 in (7 to 10 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 0.018 oz (0.5 g) |
| Top speed | 9.9 to 30 mph (16 to 48 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 0.04 to 0.1 years |
Read about it
A monarch starts as a striped caterpillar that eats only milkweed. It grows, makes a green case called a chrysalis, and comes out as a butterfly. Milkweed makes monarchs taste bad to birds, and their bright orange is a warning.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, species profile, fws.gov/species/monarch-danaus-plexippus, checked 2026-10-30
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monarch Butterfly Festival page, fws.gov/event/monarch-butterfly-festival, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the white-tailed deer
Odocoileus virginianus · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 30 to 36 in (76 to 91 cm) |
| Weight | 90 to 300 lb (41 to 136 kg) |
| Top speed | 30 mph (48 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 10 years |
Read about it
When a white-tailed deer senses danger, it raises its tail to show the bright white underside and bounds away. This flag warns other deer to run too. A fawn has white spots that help it hide on the forest floor, and almost no smell.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/white-tailed-deer-odocoileus-virginianus.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Prince William Forest Park, home.nps.gov/prwi/learn/nature/deer.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Chattahoochee River, home.nps.gov/chat/blogs/the-park-after-dark-white-tailed-deer.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the red fox
Vulpes vulpes · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3.6 ft (1.1 m) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 15 to 20 in (38 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | 9 to 11 lb (4.1 to 5 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 3 to 4 years |
Read about it
A red fox has big pointy ears and very good hearing. When it hears a mouse in the grass or under the snow, it leaps high and dives down on it. Most red foxes have a white tip on the tail and black socks on their legs.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/red-fox.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Pipestone, nps.gov/pipe/learn/nature/mammals.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service (The Clever Red Fox), nps.gov/articles/fox.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/vuvu, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the raccoon
Procyon lotor · Grades 3–4
| Length | 24 in to 3.1 ft (60 to 95 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 9 to 12 in (23 to 31 cm) |
| Weight | 15 to 40 lb (6.8 to 18 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1.8 to 3.1 years |
Read about it
A raccoon's front paws are very sensitive, especially when they are wet, so it can feel what it is holding without looking. It often dunks its food in water before eating it, which is where its science name, lotor, comes from: it means the washer. At night raccoons climb, wander and look for fruit, nuts, eggs, frogs and insects.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service (raccoon quick facts), nps.gov/articles/racoon.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Pipestone, nps.gov/pipe/learn/nature/mammals.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/prlo, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the eastern gray squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9 to 12 in (23 to 31 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1 year to 6 years |
Read about it
An eastern gray squirrel races along branches and fences, using its bushy tail to balance. In fall it collects acorns and nuts and buries them in many hiding places, then sniffs them out later, even under snow. It sleeps and raises babies in a nest of leaves up in a tree, called a drey.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Castle Clinton, nps.gov/cacl/learn/nature/index.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Lowell, nps.gov/lowe/learn/nature/squirrel.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the little brown bat
Myotis lucifugus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 9.1 to 11 in (23 to 28 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 0.5 oz (14 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 6.5 years |
Read about it
A little brown bat makes clicks and squeaks too high for people to hear and listens for the echoes that bounce back from insects, which is how it finds them in the dark. In the daytime it sleeps hanging upside down in a hidden, dark place such as a barn, a cave or a hollow tree.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Lassen Volcanic, nps.gov/lavo/learn/nature/bats.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/bats.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 14 to 23 in (36 to 58 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 1.1 to 3.1 lb (500 g to 1.4 kg) |
| Top speed | 200 mph (322 km/h) |
| How long it lives | 20 years |
Read about it
A peregrine falcon folds its wings and dives down on other birds, such as pigeons, in a move called a stoop. No other animal falls through the air so fast. It nests on high cliff ledges, and in cities it nests on tall buildings and bridges.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System, research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/fape, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Denali and Yukon-Charley Rivers, nps.gov/articles/peregrine-falcon.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the great horned owl
Bubo virginianus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 18 to 25 in (46 to 63 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2.2 to 3.8 lb (998 g to 1.7 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 13 to 15 years |
Read about it
The "horns" of a great horned owl are only tufts of feathers, not real horns. Its eyes cannot move in their sockets, so it turns its whole head to look around. Soft feathers on its wings help it fly almost without a sound.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, nps.gov/brca/learn/nature/owls.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, nps.gov/gosp/learn/nature/birds.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the american robin
Turdus migratorius · Grades 3–4
| Length | 10 in (25 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2.7 to 3 oz (77 to 85 g) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1 year to 2 years |
Read about it
A robin tilts its head to the side to spot worms in the grass, then tugs them out of the ground. The mother builds a cup-shaped nest of grass and mud and lays bright blue eggs. In spring, robins sing early in the morning, often before the sun comes up.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Mount Rainier, nps.gov/mora/learn/nature/bluebirds-robins-thrushes.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-robin, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the mallard
Anas platyrhynchos · Grades 3–4
| Length | 20 to 26 in (50 to 65 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | 2 to 3.1 lb (900 g to 1.4 kg) |
| Top speed | 51 mph (83 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A mallard tips its tail up and reaches its head underwater to eat plants, without diving. Its feathers stay dry because it spreads oil from a spot near its tail over them. Mother ducks lead their fluffy ducklings to the water soon after they hatch.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, fws.gov/species/mallard-anas-platyrhynchos, checked 2026-10-30
- USGS, usgs.gov/news/dabbling-duck-flight-speeds-high-tech-update-21st-century, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the common garter snake
Thamnophis sirtalis · Grades 3–4
| Length | 18 to 30 in (46 to 76 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 4 to 10 years |
Read about it
A garter snake flicks its tongue to smell its way to worms, slugs and frogs. If it feels scared, it may wiggle away or give off a smelly liquid. Garter snakes are not dangerous to people.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Jewel Cave, nps.gov/jeca/learn/nature/common-garter-snake.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Klamath Network, nps.gov/articles/000/common-garter-snake.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the american toad
Anaxyrus americanus · Grades 3–4
| Length | 2 to 4.4 in (5.1 to 11 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1 year to 2 years |
Read about it
A toad's bumpy skin is not made of warts, and touching a toad will not give you warts. It catches insects, slugs and worms with a sticky tongue that flicks out fast. In spring, males trill from shallow water, and females lay long strings of eggs that hatch into tadpoles.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, nps.gov/chat/learn/nature/american-toad.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Minute Man National Historical Park, nps.gov/mima/learn/nature/reptiles-and-amphibians.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the seven-spotted ladybug
Coccinella septempunctata · Grades 3–4
| Length | 0.39 in (1 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 1 year |
Read about it
A ladybug is a beetle, with hard red wing covers that lift up so its thin flying wings can unfold. It eats aphids, tiny bugs that suck the juice from plants, so gardeners are glad to see it. Its bright red color is a warning to birds that it tastes bad.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Ladybug article, nps.gov/articles/000/ladybug.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the common eastern firefly
Photinus pyralis · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 0.06 to 0.08 years |
Read about it
A firefly makes light inside its body, and the light is cool, so it does not burn. Each kind of firefly flashes its own pattern. A male flies and flashes, and a female answers from the grass with her own flash, so they can find each other.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Congaree National Park, home.nps.gov/cong/learn/nature/synchronous-fireflies-at-congaree.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the common green darner
Anax junius · Grades 3–4
| Length | 3 in (7.6 cm) |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Weight | not checked yet: look it up! |
| Top speed | 37 mph (60 km/h) |
| How long it lives | not checked yet: look it up! |
Read about it
A dragonfly has huge eyes that wrap around its head, so it can see almost all around. It can fly forward, hover and even backward, moving each of its four wings on its own. Baby darners, called nymphs, live underwater and hunt tiny water animals until they climb a plant stem and crawl out of their old skin with wings.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, nps.gov/miss/learn/nature/greendarner.htm, checked 2026-10-30
- National Park Service, Species Spotlight: Dragonflies, nps.gov/articles/species-spotlight-dragonflies.htm, checked 2026-10-30
My report: the coyote
Canis latrans · Grades 3–4
| Length | not checked yet: look it up! |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | 16 to 20 in (41 to 51 cm) |
| Weight | 25 to 35 lb (11 to 16 kg) |
| Top speed | not checked yet: look it up! |
| How long it lives | 6 years |
Read about it
A coyote eats almost anything, from mice and rabbits to insects and berries, so it can live in deserts, forests, farms and even big cities. Coyotes yip, bark and howl, and just a few together can sound like a whole crowd. A mother and father raise their pups in a den, and the pups grow up learning from their family.
Where it lives (its habitat):
What it eats:
How its body helps it live there:
My favorite fact:
A question I still have:
Where my facts came from
- National Park Service, Yellowstone, nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/coyote.htm, checked 2026-10-30