As with plants, there is amazing diversity with animals. There are 850 known species of birds, 160 known kinds of amphibians, 220 known kinds of reptiles, 250,000 known insects, and 300 known species of butterflies. 'Known' is a key word-there are still many species yet to be discovered.

There is also amazing diversity in a small space. For example, one scientist found 950 species of beetle in just one species of tree!

Besides birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects, there are mammals like rodents and monkeys and cats such as jaguars, ocelots, and pumas. There is a wide range of birds, from big-billed toucans to hummingbirds. The quetzal is very beautiful, as are most of the others. Hummingbirds are among the most fascinating.

Hummingbirds live only in the Americas, and there are more than 300 known species. Most of them live in tropical rain forests, but they are adaptable and live in many other places. They range in weight from 2 grams to 20 grams and they range in length from 2 inches to 8.5 inches. They mostly eat nectar and insects and are an important pollinator. They are amazing birds because they can hover and fly backwards. Also, their wings can beat up to 80 times per minute! As in tropical rain forests, hummingbirds in the Pacific Northwest are important pollinators and can be very pretty.

In both rain forests, there are many things that look like other things. For example, in the tropics, there is a kind of butterfly that looks like an owl, and in temperate regions there are several kinds of caterpillars that have big heads with fake eyes that look like snakes and act like snakes. This is often to scare away predators.

Waterfalls are important because they produce mist, which plants and animals, especially amphibians such as frogs, soak up. Frogs like to be in moist places because their skin is thin and loses moisture quickly.

Frogs live all over the world, and all spend some of their time in or near the water and on land. Common frogs in tropical rain forests are tree frogs. They have long legs and sticky feet, capable of climbing up glass, that are perfect for climbing. They are mostly nocturnal which accounts for their huge eyes.

They may spend their entire lives in the trees, and lay their eggs in pools of water in tank bromeliads, epiphytes that can hold up to five gallons of water. Tank bromeliads are just like ponds-tadpoles can swim around in them easily. Some kinds of frogs even give birth to already-metamorphosed froglets, avoiding the tadpole stage. There are also some kinds of tree frogs in temperate regions and many kinds of toads. The biggest difference is that most aren't as colorful.

The most feared frogs in the tropical forest, poison dart frogs, are deadly poisonous, even to humans. Ancient tribes used to rub dart tips on the frogs' backs, putting on enough poison to kill a person. Flying frogs, the frog acrobats, use their huge webbed feet as parachutes as they glide to a lower branch to escape predators.

Getting back to the Northwest, one of the most joked about creatures is slugs. Slugs can be very large in Washington-banana slugs average six inches but can reach lengths of twelve! They move with a muscle that pushes them along a trail of mucus. The fastest slug recorded sped along at .034 miles per hour! The average is more like .0034 though.

Their mucus protects them from bacteria, and the "leftovers" serve as a slime trail to go along. This trail can also tell other slugs information such as how fast they were going and even if they were looking for a mate. There are slugs in tropical regions, too, but they are not nearly as huge as the ones in the Northwest!