
A naturalist in the Gulbenkian Garden
Once a month, over the course of a year, Wilder magazine revealed curiosities you shouldn’t miss in the Gulbenkian Garden and made a challenge: to discover and photograph or draw each discovery. The following year, based on the garden’s biodiversity and with the help of experts, we answered to several “how and why” questions on birds, insects, mammals, amphibians and plants.


Why are flies so much faster than humans?

Why do bats roost upside down?

Why are male mallards more colourful than the females?

Do tortoises hibernate in Portugal?

How do birds survive the rain and cold?

Why do some trees keep their leaves in autumn and winter?

What do butterflies feed on?

Do crickets sing more in the summer? And do all crickets sing?

How do dragonflies and damselflies grow and start to fly?

How can swifts sleep in flight?

How do plants disperse their seeds?

How do migratory birds find their way?

Why is it that one rarely sees butterflies in winter?

Why do some trees have galls?

How do mushrooms reproduce?

Why are moths attracted to artificial light?

How do bats hunt at night?

Why do dragonflies and damselflies have such big eyes?

Why does the green frog croak?

Why are some birds’ eggs coloured and patterned?

How can you distinguish bird songs from bird calls?

Five songbirds to listen to in the Garden in March and April
