Sammy Sosquirrely Meets His Neighbors Quiz

Answer: Yes

A medium-sized songbird, the Northern cardinal is found throughout the eastern half of North America, with extreme ranges into Texas, Belize, Mexico and lower areas of Canada. They are very territorial, and will aggressively defend not only their own young, but also those of other birds.

Their distinctive crests, coloring - males a crimson red and females a brownish-red - and song, makes them some of North America's most recognizable birds. They do mate for life, and have one to four broods each year, but due to juvenile predation, their median lifespan is approximately one year. In addition to being the mascot for a number of sports teams, the Northern cardinal is the state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. Oddly enough, Missouri's state bird is the Eastern Bluebird - while their Major League Baseball team is named the St. Louis Cardinals.

Answer: eastern chipmunk

Eastern chipmunks are solitary creatures, except during their mating seasons. They have two such seasons, one in the spring and one in the summer, and the females may produce two litters, each consisting of three to five babies. Their diet consists of nuts, acorns, seeds, insects, bird eggs, snails and other small foods.

They prefer to live at the edges of woodlands, in open forests, and bushy or rocky areas. The eastern chipmunk has cheek pouches to store and carry food.

Answer: blue

Red foxes usually have one litter per year, consisting of four to six kits. It takes 13 - 15 days for the kits' eyes to open. While their eyes begin life as blue, they change to amber at 4-5 weeks.
Red foxes have a wide distribution across the northern hemisphere, and adapt well to human habitation. Their diet usually consists of mice, voles, birds, reptiles, berries, acorns and grasses - but can also include garbage and pet food. On average, in the wild, they live two to four years.

Answer: mourning dove

Mourning doves are year-round inhabitants throughout most of the United States (continental) and Mexico. They are usually brown to gray in color, with black and whitish markings. Plump-bodied and long-tailed, their heads tend to seem disproportionately small.

They like to roost on telephone wires, forest-edge trees and urban areas with acceptable perches. They prefer to nest in trees, and upon reproduction will usually have two eggs - which both the female and male will tend to.

Answer: homing instinct

Striped skunks lack a homing instinct and can easily get lost. They use scent marking to delineate their territory and communicate their presence. They are most active at dusk and dawn, and subsist on a diet which includes squirrels, mice, snails, honeybees, berries and similar foods.

They can be found throughout Illinois, and through most of North America, in a variety of habitats. In some areas, striped skunks are kept as pets, but they are not common pets due to the veterinary care they require. The striped skunk, or Mephitis mephitis, does have natural predators - great horned owls and red-tailed hawks, who are not deterred by the skunk's scent-spraying defense system.

Answer: painted turtle

The painted turtles found in Illinois are the midland and western subspecies. They are freshwater turtles, with the ability to breathe air and absorb oxygen in water through their skin. Both can grow up to 10 inches in length, with the females usually both longer and heavier than the males.

Their upper shells are olive to black with light markings, and the bottom shells are shaded a dark yellow to bright red with splotchy markings. They are omnivores, and in place of teeth they have a hard beak. Lacking vocal chords, they do not have a call, but they are capable of producing hissing noises. Basking is a regular part of their daily routine, except during their winter hibernation, and while they are often seen basking on logs or rocks, they have been seen doing so in numerous other places - including atop nesting loons! The painted turtle is Illinois' state reptile.

Answer: Northern flicker

There are two subspecies of Northern flickers in North America - the yellow-shafted flicker and the red-shafted flicker. Members of the woodpecker family, both are medium-sized birds with wingspans of up to 21 inches. Their plumage is mostly brown with black bars and scalloping, and the undersides of their wings and tails are either yellow or red. While they will eat berries, nuts, seeds and other foods, ants make up almost half of their diet.
There is also a gilded flicker - which looks like a cross between the two subspecies - found in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico.

Answer: Eastern grey squirrel

The Eastern grey squirrel, or simply grey squirrel, is one of the most common small mammals found throughout the midwestern and eastern portions of North America. A frequent raider of bird feeders, their diet includes acorns, seeds, berries, fungi and insects.

They prefer to build their nests, known as dreys, in large trees, although they will also take advantage of man-made structures such as sheds or houses. Most active during early morning and evening, they are also active throughout the day, making them a familiar sight in yards and parks. Curious and shy, they can be enticed to approach humans with food.

The grey squirrel is not always grey, but frequently brown or even black.

Answer: True

American toads are found throughout a large part of North America - from Canada south to Alabama, and from Maine west to Oklahoma. There are three subspecies - the eastern American toad, the dwarf American toad and the Hudson Bay toad. They are freshwater amphibians, and commonly found near ponds, and if there is water nearby, also in gardens and farmlands.

They hibernate during the winter, and breed during the late spring or early summer months. Adults are mainly nocturnal, and usually solitary except during the breeding season.

Answer: hoary bat

Hoary bats have a wingspan of almost 16 inches, and a body length of about 5.5 inches. They are the most widespread of American bats, and even have a presence in Hawaii - but not in Alaska. They prefer to live in woodlands, usually alone, and hunt at night - again, usually alone. Unlike most bats, they give birth to two pups on a fairly regular basis, and have recorded births of up to four pups.

While moths are their preferred food, their diet also includes beetles, wasps, termites, grasshoppers, dragonflies and flies.