How Much Do You Know About Birds?
Written by Todd Curtis Science Expert
Last updated · -8 min play time
It's a plane! It's Superman! It's a bird! How much do you know about these fantastic flying fowl? Take this quiz to find out.
It's a plane! It's Superman! It's a bird! How much do you know about these fantastic flying fowl? Take this quiz to find out.
This quiz was expert-written by Todd Curtis. Todd has his Bachelor’s in Physics and Mathematics as well as his Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, he is a physics professor and has taught astronomy and engineering. In addition to Todd being a history and trivia buff, he is also a DIY guru and built his own house.
Quiz written by
Todd CurtisBirds Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 8.9K Plays · 2 Comments
Question 1
Hummingbirds are highly unique birds. Which of the following abilities do ONLY hummingbirds have?
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AHovering while flying
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BFlying at speeds over 30 mph
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CFlying backwards
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DThey don't need to migrate
Flying backwards
Hummingbirds have extremely high metabolisms, breathing rates, and heart rates in addition to being the only bird able to fly backwards.
Question 2
What bird has the largest wingspan of any existing species?
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AGolden eagle
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BWandering albatross
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CCalifornia condor
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DBlue heron
Wandering albatross
With wingspans reaching nearly 12 feet, the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird species.
Question 3
The red-tailed hawk is known for its amazing eye sight. Imagine that there is a human with 20/20 vision, meaning they can read reasonably small writing from 20 feet way. How far away could the red-tailed hawk read the same sign (assuming it could read)?
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A40 feet
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B160 feet
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C80 feet
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D20 feet
160 feet
The red-tailed hawk has vision that is 8 times better than that of humans, or what would be considered 20/2.5 vision. Meaning at 20 ft they can see what a normal human can see at 2.5 feet.
Question 4
The anhinga is a swamp bird that often spends time swimming with just its head and neck above the water giving it the nickname snakebird. When not swimming, it spends much of its time standing with its wings spread wide, why does it stand like this?
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ATo create shade that attracts fish
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BTo dry its feathers
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CTo look more snake-like
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DAs a mating ritual
To dry its feathers
The anhinga is a bird that doesn't have waterproof wings so it needs to dry its wings after being underwater.
Question 5
Assume an owl starts with its head facing straight forward, what is the approximate amount it can rotate its head in one direction?
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A360 degrees
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B90 degrees
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C180 degrees
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D270 degrees
270 degrees
From straight forward, most owls can rotate their heads a maximum of 270 degrees. If they started with it twisted one way, they could swing it back 540 degrees.
Question 6
Flamingos are known for their distinctive bright pink color. Why are they pink?
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ATheir diet
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BBlood vessels run through their feathers
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CThere are pink parasites that live on their feathers.
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DThey roll around in pink foliage.
Their diet
For flamingos, it turns out you are what you eat. The high levels of carotenoids in their diet leads to their pink color.
Question 7
The heart of a bird is composed of how many chambers?
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AThree
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BFour
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CTwo
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DSix
Four
The hearts of birds, just like humans, have four chambers.
Question 8
Puffins are a popular bird found in the north Atlantic ocean. About 60% of all puffins breed on or near one island nation. What island nation is that?
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ACuba
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BIreland
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CIceland
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DMadagascar.
Iceland
Approximately 60% of all puffins breed on or near Iceland.
Question 9
What bird is pictured here?
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AGrey pelican
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BCrane
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CBlue heron
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DTurkey Vulture
Blue heron
The bird pictured is a blue heron.
Question 10
Unlike most birds, vultures have featherless heads, why do most vultures have featherless heads?
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ATo prevent over heating
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BTo remain clean while eating
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CThey pull them off one another when competing for mates.
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DTo prevent getting caught when sticking their heads in tree holes
To remain clean while eating
Vultures are scavengers, eating any food they can and often times eating the leftovers of other carnivores. A featherless head helps them stay clean from dangerous bacteria.
Question 11
Which of the following features of a bird's body structure is key to it being able to fly?
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AHaving no liver or kidneys
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BHaving zero body fat
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CHaving no bones, only cartilage
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DHaving hollow bones
Having hollow bones
Birds have hollow bones, making it easier for them to fly.
Question 12
The common swift, a relatively small bird (about 6.5 inches long) holds the record for the amount of time it can spend in the air without landing. Approximately how long can a common swift fly without landing?
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A30 days
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B300 days
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C150 days
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D75 days
300 days
The common swift has been tracked flying for periods over 10 months!
Question 13
Some toucans have beaks that make up one third of their body length. What is the purpose of the toucans extremely large beak?
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AIt helps to regulate their body temperature.
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BThey use it to store food.
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CEach one is unique so other birds can identify them.
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DIt gives them leverage to crack nuts.
It helps to regulate their body temperature.
While there has been some debate through the years, recent studies have shown that the toucan's beak plays an important role in regulating the temperature of the bird during hot days in the tropics.
Question 14
In parts of Asia, bird's nest soup is a delicacy made from the nest of swiftlets, small swift-like birds. What are these nest made of?
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ABird saliva
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BBird feces
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CRare water plants
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DRecycled eggshells
Bird saliva
Bird's nest soup is made from nests that swiftlets make from their spit. The difficulty in harvesting the nests and their small size make it one of the most expensive things consumed anywhere in the world.
Question 15
Owls have special fringed feathers at the tips of their wings called flutings. What is the purpose of these feathers?
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ATo attract females
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BTo pick up potential prey
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CTo keep their young warm
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DTo allow the owl to fly silently
To allow the owl to fly silently
Sounds made by things moving through air is usually caused by turbulence. Owl flutings break up the air causing turbulence to only occur in very small and disperse amounts (known as micro-turbulence), thus making their flight nearly silent.
Question 16
The Bassian thrush, a very ordinary looking bird has a very unique way of locating worms to eat. What do they use to find worms?
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ASinging
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BFlatulence
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CBurrowing underground
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DHaving a flexible worm-like beak
Flatulence
The Bassian thrush farts to startle worms and other bugs into revealing their location.
Question 17
All of the following are characteristics of emperor penguins EXCEPT one, which one is that?
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AThey can dive to depths of 10,000 feet when hunting.
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BThe males incubate the eggs.
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CThey spend their entire life in Antarctica.
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DThey are the largest of all penguin species.
They can dive to depths of 10,000 feet when hunting.
Emperor penguins are amazing birds, but they can only dive up to 1,500 feet.
Question 18
Ostriches, the fastest running two-legged animal on the planet, have unique feet. How many toes do ostriches have on each foot?
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A4
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B2
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C3
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D5
2
Odd as it may seem, ostriches only have 2 toes on each foot.
Question 19
A woodpecker's head can experience up to 100 g's of force during impact, a force deadly to humans. All of the following features help woodpeckers prevent concussions or other serious brain injuries when pecking EXCEPT one? Which one is NOT a brain-saving feature?
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AA tongue that wraps around the brain
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BA lack of empty space between the brain and the skull
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CA highly compressible beak
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DSpongy bone surrounding the skull
A highly compressible beak
A woodpecker's beak is fairly rigid and not able to compress on impact. All the others are features of woodpeckers that help save their brains.
Question 20
This African bird is named after a human job occupation. Can you guess what it is?
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AThe mime bird
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BThe waiter bird
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CThe secretary Bird
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DThe magician bird
The secretary Bird
The bird shown is known as a secretary bird.
Comments (2)
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Excellent quizzing
Good Questions.