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Quiz about Encounters of the Feathered Kind  W Europe
Quiz about Encounters of the Feathered Kind  W Europe

Encounters of the Feathered Kind ( W Europe) Quiz


In this quiz we will go through some alien and/or invasive avian species which can now be found in Western Europe.

A multiple-choice quiz by NaBaMo. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
NaBaMo
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
385,701
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
149
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The grey forehead and face, delimiting a green hood, give this bird its name. Native to South America and considered as one of the greatest avian plagues in Spain and other Western European countries, what bird are we talking about? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Now considered a common sight by many Northern Europeans, history tells us that the majority of the European population of this black-and-white faced waterfowl is introduced. What is it? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This time we focus on a medium to large-sized waterfowl, a quite aggressive one (particularly to other waterfowl), which undoubtedly is an invasive species in NW Europe although it was initially introduced as an ornamental bird. Which one is this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. For the last of the waterfowl in this quiz we shall unmask a small, brownish duck which poses a very high genetic and ecological risk to a related, native species because of the eventual hybridisation and competition for natural resources. What invasive duck are we talking about? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This is a mostly yellow bird with the same job as the mythological Arachne, moderately spread mainly through Portuguese and Spanish wetlands. Which of these is it? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Let's go larger now. This time your task is to spot which of these species of the family Phasianidae is truly native to our lands. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Another stunningly coloured, long-legged bird is beginning to make its own way into Europe coming from Africa. A darker beak might help us to distinguish it from its cousins. Which bird is this? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Among the reeds in the marsh, we can find many alien species. Which three birds of the following are all non-native species found in Western European wetlands? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Native and quite common in continental Europe, this small nocturnal raptor was introduced into the UK by the 1900s and is now quite common in England and Wales, which species are we after? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. And, as the cherry on the cake, we welcome a chap that has accomplished, by its own means, a long westwards expansion during the 20th century. It only arrived in Western Europe after the 1940s but is now a very common urban bird. Who is this pinkish-grey feathered immigrant? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The grey forehead and face, delimiting a green hood, give this bird its name. Native to South America and considered as one of the greatest avian plagues in Spain and other Western European countries, what bird are we talking about?

Answer: Monk parakeet

The monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus), also known as the quaker parrot, has proved to be a very adaptable species, now ranging through most of Western Europe (especially Spain, Italy and Belgium, with a variable and almost controlled population in the UK), the Caribbean and some major cities of the United States of America. The main methods proposed for controlling the population of this parakeet include destroying their nests (by taking them to pieces, burning them or even watering them before a freezing night) and mass-sterilization.

Although also being an invasive species, the rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) doesn't match with the description given.

The other two species, the white-cheeked turaco (Tauraco leucotis) and the brown-necked parrot (Poicephalus robustus), aren't reported from countries outside their native regions apart from eventual escapes.
2. Now considered a common sight by many Northern Europeans, history tells us that the majority of the European population of this black-and-white faced waterfowl is introduced. What is it?

Answer: Canada goose

Canada geese (Branta canadensis), first introduced in Britain during the 17th century from North America, has now become a very common bird not only in the British Isles, but also in the North-Western regions of the continent. It is arguable whether it is an invasive species or merely a naturalised one.

The smew (Mergellus albellus) and the common eider (Somateria mollissima) are two native European species.

The cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii), extremely similar to tha Canada goose, differing mainly in size, is also native to North America but has not been introduced to other parts of the world.
3. This time we focus on a medium to large-sized waterfowl, a quite aggressive one (particularly to other waterfowl), which undoubtedly is an invasive species in NW Europe although it was initially introduced as an ornamental bird. Which one is this?

Answer: Egyptian goose

The Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca), despite being a colourful and extraordinary sighting, poses a great risk to wild populations of ducks, geese and other aquatic birds due to their currently vast population, thus occupying the ecological niches of native species. It is particularly well-known its aggressiveness towards other wildfowl. This goose is native to Central and Southern Africa.

The ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) has its nearest native populations in SE Europe on one side and in the Canary Islands on the other, with very small, non-established, feral populations in the UK, Belgium and other NW European countries, which means it is not even near being an invasive species.

Both the red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) and the red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator) are native species to Europe.
4. For the last of the waterfowl in this quiz we shall unmask a small, brownish duck which poses a very high genetic and ecological risk to a related, native species because of the eventual hybridisation and competition for natural resources. What invasive duck are we talking about?

Answer: Ruddy duck

The stifftails (genus Oxyura) used to have only one member in Europe, the white-headed duck (Oxyura leucocephala), which breeds in Central to Southern Spain, a population which grew from 22 individuals in 1977 to around 4500 in 2000. The ruddy duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) was introduced in the 1930s and 1940s in England, breeding for the first time in the wild in the 1950s. By 2016 it boasted a population of around 6000 individuals in the UK alone, and has begun spreading through Europe and Northern Africa, competing and hybridising with the white-headed duck, with a probable result being the total annihilation of the latter.

Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) are also a widespread, alien species, more or less invasive, but it doesn't pose a genetic risk to any native species in Europe.

The Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope) is a native species.
5. This is a mostly yellow bird with the same job as the mythological Arachne, moderately spread mainly through Portuguese and Spanish wetlands. Which of these is it?

Answer: Black-headed weaver

The stunning black-headed weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus), along with other weavers and bishops (family Ploceidae), are present in many SW European wetlands, where they thrive among the reeds, weaving their orb-shaped nests, hence their name. They are native to Central and Southern Africa (other species also inhabit Asia), and arrived in Europe through escapes from captivity.

The yellow-mantled widowbird (Euplectes macroura) is an exclusively African bird, and the yellow-breasted flycatcher (Tolmomyias flaviventris) is only found in South America.

The marsh tit (Poecile palustris) is a native bird to Europe.
6. Let's go larger now. This time your task is to spot which of these species of the family Phasianidae is truly native to our lands.

Answer: Western capercaillie

We can find all of these species in Western Europe, although only in Britain are all four species present.

Of them all, only the western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is the native species. It can only be found in Western France, Switzerland (where the Central-Eastern European population of this species begins), Northern Spain (extremely endangered although has never become regionally extinct) and Scotland (where it became extinct in the 18th century but was reintroduced a century after although is now very endangered).

The three pheasants are more or less established, being the common (Phasianus colchicus) extremely widespread, so much so that one would think it's a native species, and the Green (Phasianus versicolor) the least spread, in Europe only in the UK. All of them were introduced from Eastern Asia.
7. Another stunningly coloured, long-legged bird is beginning to make its own way into Europe coming from Africa. A darker beak might help us to distinguish it from its cousins. Which bird is this?

Answer: Lesser flamingo

Although in the past some ringed individuals, escapees from private collections, had been seen in different parts of Europe, increasing numbers of wild lesser flamingoes (Phoeniconaias minor) are being seen - mainly in west and southwest Europe, and they have even nested in Southern Spain at the Fuentedepiedra Lagoon.

This last wetland is home to the second largest European colony of greater flamingoes (Phoenicopterus roseus), which are native to our region, as is the purple heron (Ardea purpurea).

The Puna flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi) is a small flamingo native to the Andes, in South America.
8. Among the reeds in the marsh, we can find many alien species. Which three birds of the following are all non-native species found in Western European wetlands?

Answer: Red avadavat, common waxbill and yellow-crowned bishop

The red avadavat (Amandava amandava), native to SE Asia, the common waxbill (Estrilda astrild) and the yellow-crowned bishop (Euplectes afer), this last two species originating from Central and Southern Africa, are three quite established species in SW Europe, mainly Spain and Portugal, with small numbers further North and East.

The other species mentioned are all native to our region.
9. Native and quite common in continental Europe, this small nocturnal raptor was introduced into the UK by the 1900s and is now quite common in England and Wales, which species are we after?

Answer: Little owl

The only species not currently present in the UK (or W Europe) is the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus).

The rest are quite common both in the UK and continental W Europe. Nevertheless, whereas tawny (Strix aluco) and barn owls (Tyto alba) have long been native to the British Isles, the little owl (Athene noctua) was not introduced in England until the beginning of the 20th century and has since been quite successful there.
10. And, as the cherry on the cake, we welcome a chap that has accomplished, by its own means, a long westwards expansion during the 20th century. It only arrived in Western Europe after the 1940s but is now a very common urban bird. Who is this pinkish-grey feathered immigrant?

Answer: Eurasian collared dove

Now an extremely common urban bird in most of Europe, the Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) is believed to have originally been restricted to S Asia. By the beginnings of the 20th century it started an astounding expansion from Turkey north westwards, arriving in the Netherlands not before the 1940s, to Britain between the 1950s and the 1960s and to Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula by the late 1960s.

The African collared dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea), although being an alien species present in small numbers in some Spanish localities, has accomplished neither a westwards expansion (if anything, it would be eastwards) nor has it been a long one.

Both the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and the stock dove (Columba oenas) are native species to our region.
Source: Author NaBaMo

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.
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