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Quiz about The Much Maligned Magpie
Quiz about The Much Maligned Magpie

The Much Maligned Magpie Trivia Quiz


Magpies are hardly the most popular of birds, having developed a reputation as noisy, scavenging pests. Personally I like them. Well, someone has to!

A multiple-choice quiz by DUFFMONKEY. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
DUFFMONKEY
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
276,376
Updated
Nov 25 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
2042
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 125 (7/10), Guest 190 (10/10), mungojerry (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What are the two most prominent colours of the magpie most commonly found in the British Isles? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Which word best describes a magpie's eating habits? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. To what family of birds do European and American magpies belong? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What, collectively, is a group of magpies called? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. It is the male of the species who incubates the magpie's eggs.


Question 6 of 10
6. What is the Latin name for the magpie family? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Magpies belong to the avian order Passeriformes, which means they are perching birds. Which of the following is the correct configuration of their toes? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Magpies are so intelligent that they are brilliantly adept at avoiding being run over by cars, and will often disappear at the sight of a shotgun.


Question 9 of 10
9. Which of these is the closest to the noise an adult European magpie makes? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which part of a magpie makes up over half of its body's entire length? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Sep 26 2024 : Guest 125: 7/10
Sep 22 2024 : Guest 190: 10/10
Sep 17 2024 : mungojerry: 10/10
Sep 17 2024 : wino2: 6/10
Sep 17 2024 : japh: 8/10
Sep 17 2024 : poetkah: 10/10
Sep 17 2024 : bigsouthern: 5/10
Sep 17 2024 : woodychandler: 8/10
Sep 17 2024 : gumman: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What are the two most prominent colours of the magpie most commonly found in the British Isles?

Answer: Black and White

It's a striking bird, yet almost everyone seems to hate the magpie. At my workplace, a baby magpie got trapped on top of an uplighter in our reception area, and was unable to navigate its way out. I was horrified to hear people saying things like "Leave it there to die.

It's a magpie after all". You could tell the bird was in distress and I felt really sorry for it. You'll be pleased (or otherwise) to learn that one of our engineers managed to get it out unharmed after about six hours!
2. Which word best describes a magpie's eating habits?

Answer: Omnivorous

An omnivore is a species of animal that eats both plants and meat as its primary food source.

Carnivores eat primarily other animals' flesh.

Herbivores eat a plant based diet.

You didn't go for the other one...did you?
3. To what family of birds do European and American magpies belong?

Answer: Crow

A member of the Corvidae family, the magpie is a passerine (perching) bird which counts crows, jays and ravens amongst its relations.

Not the most popular of birds, the magpie has, in recent years, been blamed for the dwindling numbers of songbirds, due to its tendency to steal eggs and youngsters from other birds' nests. In actual fact, the magpie's preferred diet is generally roadkill, seeds and insects, only resorting to scavenging when there is little else to feed their own offspring. The RSPB commissioned the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) recently to establish whether magpies COULD be part of the problem, but the diminishing population of songbirds remained the same in both places abundant with the black and white beasts, as well as areas that had none.

Believe it or not, in various parts of the world, magpies eat many harmful insects, such as the scarab beetle in Western Australia, and therefore should be given a lot more respect than they actually get.
4. What, collectively, is a group of magpies called?

Answer: A Parliament

According to Washington's Smithsonian National Zoological Park, a group of magpies is called a parliament due to the birds' habit of "forming large assemblies during which one bird will appear to orate at length".

Most people know that the correct term for a group of owls is a parliament, but the term is also applied to magpies.

It is also common, in Britain at least, for a group of magpies to be called a "tidings".

A gaggle of course refers to a group of geese.

An ostentation refers to a group of peacocks.

A school refers to a group of whales and has nothing whatsoever to do with our feathered friends!
5. It is the male of the species who incubates the magpie's eggs.

Answer: False

There are several species of bird where the male incubates their mate's eggs, but the magpie is not one of them. Amongst the birds that do are North America's mountain plover and the kiwi.
6. What is the Latin name for the magpie family?

Answer: Corvidae

Columbidae refers to pigeons and doves.

Troglodyte translates from Latin as "cave-dweller" and relates to wrens.

Passer - as in passerine birds - is a genus of old world sparrows.
7. Magpies belong to the avian order Passeriformes, which means they are perching birds. Which of the following is the correct configuration of their toes?

Answer: Three toes pointing forward, one toe pointing back

It makes sense if you think about it. Just think about how YOU would grip a branch with your feet!
8. Magpies are so intelligent that they are brilliantly adept at avoiding being run over by cars, and will often disappear at the sight of a shotgun.

Answer: True

Magpies are right at the top of the pecking order (Ouch, sorry about that!) when it comes to intelligence. Think about it, how many dead magpies do you see in the middle of the road, as opposed to pigeons? Not many. Having said that, I've yet to lose to one at Scrabble...
9. Which of these is the closest to the noise an adult European magpie makes?

Answer: Chacker Chacker

A highly unpleasant sound admittedly, but the magpie's call is easily identifiable. I remember when one extremely vocal bird had been waking me, my wife and the cat up at some ungodly hour every morning and not allowing us any peace. Then one day it stopped.

When I went outside to hang the washing on the line, there was a dead magpie lying in the garden. I did wonder whether the cat had managed to identify which bird was causing the disturbance and decided to put a stop to it!
10. Which part of a magpie makes up over half of its body's entire length?

Answer: Tail

I'm sure you got this one right. After all, if I saw a magpie whose beak, legs or head made up half of its entire body length, I think I'd run a mile!
Source: Author DUFFMONKEY

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