40 Bird Trivia Questions

1. Which muscular part of a bird's stomach grinds its food?

2. In birds that have one, what is the crop used for?

3. What is a bird doing when it preens its feathers?

4. What does it mean when a bird molts?

5. What is the name of a songbird's sound-producing organ?

6. What is the small feathered projection on the leading edge of a bird's wing called?

7. Which protein is the main structural material in feathers?

8. Which name means the same thing as a bird's beak?

9. A red crossbill's crossed bill tips help it extract seeds from what?

10. Which sweet liquid do hummingbirds sip from flowers?

11. What shape is the widened tip of a roseate spoonbill's bill?

12. An American avocet's long, slender bill curves in which direction?

13. What does a belted kingfisher usually dive into water to catch?

14. Oysters, mussels, and clams in an American oystercatcher's diet belong to which group?

15. When a flamingo filter-feeds, how is its head typically held?

16. Which food makes up most of an adult hoatzin's diet?

17. Where does a burrowing owl usually nest?

18. In many hornbill species, a nesting female stays behind a sealed entrance with what left open?

19. Which small bird stitches leaves together around its nest?

20. What material forms the raised mound of a flamingo's nest?

21. Which natural nesting site does a wood duck usually choose?

22. A pied-billed grebe typically builds which kind of nest?

23. What shape is the nest a Baltimore oriole weaves and suspends from a branch?

24. Which swallow builds enclosed, gourd-shaped mud nests in colonies?

25. Strictly speaking, a peacock is which member of the peafowl family?

26. What is an adult female chicken called?

27. The northern flicker belongs to which bird family?

28. A gosling is the young of which bird?

29. The greater roadrunner belongs to which bird family?

30. The laughing kookaburra is a member of which bird family?

31. The budgerigar, often kept as a pet, is native to which country?

32. In bird descriptions, where is the nape?

33. What helps a jacana walk across floating vegetation?

34. Which North American songbird walks underwater in streams to find food?

35. Which bird often works its way headfirst down tree trunks?

36. Which New Zealand parrot is both flightless and mainly active at night?

37. In which country would you find wild kea, parrots associated with alpine areas?

38. What is the helmet-like structure on a cassowary's head called?

39. Oilbirds navigate dark caves using clicks and returning echoes. What is this ability called?

40. Which of these birds can enter prolonged torpor to cope with cold conditions?