The Pelican Summer 2025 – Bird Trivia

By Kentia Kalanaki

All Answers are at the bottom of the page!

Fill in the blank: 

1. Bird phylogeny: There are 23 orders in the class Aves (Birds) however, over half of all bird species are in one order-_________

2. When they hatch, some young birds are ________ meaning they are capable of walking, swimming, feeding, and maintaining their own body temperature within a few hours after they hatch, though they still need the protection of the parent ( geese, ducks, sandpipers, chickens, etc). Others, however, are _______, meaning they depend on the parent until they leave the nest (songbirds, pigeons, owls, etc). 

3. _______  have the largest egg-to-body size ratio, laying eggs that can be up to a quarter of the size of their body. Their eggs are six times the size of similarly sized birds’ eggs. Yikes

4. When feeding, ________ don’t “dabble” with their tails in the air like most other dabbling ducks- they stick their huge bills halfway in the water and they spin, or “pinwheel” to stir up the surface of the water and skim for food particles.

5. The ___________ is the only bird with a bill longer than its body.

Multiple choice: 

       1.   Penguins can’t fly, but some can leap as high as ______ into the air!

                    a.  3 feet

                    b.  5 feet

                    c.  9 feet

                    d.  13 feet

       2.   A green woodpecker can eat as many as _______ ants per day.

                    a.  200

                    b.  500

                    c.  1000

                    d.  2000

       3.   The bird with the largest wingspan is a species of….

                    a.  Condor

                    b.  Albatross

                    c.  Tern

                    d.  Jaeger

       4.   It’s thought that the tufts on a Great Horned Owl’s head help it with…

                    a.  Hearing

                    b.  Mating Displays

                    c.  Camouflage

                    d.  Aerodynamics

Many birds are named after the sounds they make. Example: chickadees say chicka-dee-dee-dee. Name as many as you can! 

Crow vs. Raven

Can you tell the difference between a crow and a raven? Name which feature belongs to which bird. 

Solitary vs. Social

Smaller vs. Larger

Woody croak vs. Nasal caw

Soaring flight vs. Frequent flapping in flight

Wedge-shaped tail vs. Fan shaped tail

Shaggy throat feathers vs. smooth throat feathers

Smaller, thinner bill vs. bigger, curvier bill

Shorter bristles at the base of bill vs. longer bristles at the base of bill

Answers

Fill in the blank answers: 

1. Passeriformes (Perching birds)

2. precocial, altricial

3. Kiwis

4. Northern Shovelers

5. Sword-billed Hummingbird

Multiple choice answers: 

1-C, 2-D, 3-B, 4-C. 

Birds named after the sounds they make: 

Chickadee, Bobwhite, Phoebe, pewee, whippoorwill, chuck-will’s-widow, killdeer, towhee, pipit, and cuckoo. These are some examples, there are many more out there! 

Crow vs. Raven

Crow: Social, smaller, nasal caw, frequent flapping in flight, fan shaped tail, smooth throat feathers, smaller thinner bill, shorter bristles at the base of bill. 

Raven: Solitary, larger, woody croak, soaring flight, wedge-shaped tail, shaggy throat feathers, bigger curvier bill, longer bristles at the base of bill.