There are three major families of shorebirds: 1  Waders, about 220 species, include sandpipers, lapwings, snipes, plovers, stilts and various other species. These birds inhabit coasts and shorelines, as well as other open habitats. 2  Gulls, terns, skuas, jaegers and skimmers form a group of a little over 100 species.
The compass was probably invented in the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) by Chinese fortune-tellers who used the lodestones to construct their fortune telling boards.
The twelve animals are Rat, Cow, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Chicken, Dog and Pig. The 12 Chinese zodiac signs are determined by people's birth year. Most of Internet Chinese horoscope sites use Chinese New Year Day to determine the Chinese zodiac sign, which is wrong. The first day of the Chinese astrological year is the first day of the Tiger Month (Start of Spring). The Tiger Month begins around February 4, each year. If you were born before February 4, then you should check Your Chinese Zodiac Sign first before reading your 2013 Chinese zodiac.