Really Wild Birds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cock-of-the-rock

This beautiful bird can be found in tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of South America. It is named for its habit of nesting in holes on cliffs. The cock-of-the-rock dines on fruit, insects, and small reptiles. It can grow to about 13 inches long. The national bird of Peru is the Andean cock-of-the-rock.

Answer: Potoo

The brown, mottled feathers of the potoo makes the bird look like part of a tree, useful camouflage while it sleeps during the day. The potoo is a night hunter, preferring to snack on beetles, moths, and other insects. An interesting feature of this bird is that it has slits in its eyelids which enables it to see with eyes closed.

Answer: Tawny Frogmouth

The tawny frogmouth is so named because it has a wide mouth, not because it feeds on frogs. Like the potoo, its camouflaged coloring helps to protect it from prey. And like its cousin, its ability to freeze on a tree branch and become one with the tree also helps to protect it. The tawny frogmouth likes to feed on berries, small lizards, and insects.

Answer: Secretary bird

Due to its long legs, the secretary bird is a speedy hunter and kills its favorite prey, the snake, by stomping it to death. It's a good thing that this bird's legs are scaly because it helps to protect it from snake bites. Besides snakes, the secretary bird likes to eat mice, lizards, and grasshoppers. With a wingspan of over six feet and standing 52 inches tall, this bird is unusual-looking indeed.

Answer: Kakapo

Scientists believe that the kakapo lost its ability to fly millions of years ago due to the lack of large land predators on its island. Since it is such a rare bird, extinction is a real possibility. Volunteers from around the world are currently dedicating their time and efforts to prevent this bird from becoming extinct.

Answer: Roadrunner

The roadrunner is a sleek bird, built for speed. It will build its nest in a cactus or small tree. The nest is built with twigs, snake skins, and dung. This bird is definitely not a picky eater. It will eat pretty much anything including small reptiles, insects, fruit and seeds.

Answer: Weaver Bird

The weaver bird constructs its intricate nest using grasses and reeds it collects in its beak. This clever bird builds its nest with the entrance on the bottom so airborne predators will have a harder time seeing it. Weaver birds are communal creatures and often build nests close to each other. Some trees hold fifty or more individual nests. That makes for one noisy tree!

Answer: Macaroni

The name of this penguin comes from an 18th century English term for a foppish young man who wore bright feathers in his hat. Macaroni penguins gather each summer in huge breeding colonies. Each colony contains as many as 100,000 birds. An interesting fact about this penguin is that the female lays two eggs but the first egg is kicked out of the nest as soon as the second is laid. Talk about leaving the nest early!

Answer: Shoebill

An adult shoebill is grayish in color while its young are brown. This is a large bird with an appetite to match its size. The shoebill loves to eat fish, turtles and baby crocodiles. Its favorite food is the lungfish, a type of air-breathing fish that lives around plants along the banks of the Nile. The shoebill is a solitary bird and does not hang out in groups.

Answer: Frigate bird

That inflated red throat can expand to the size of a human head. Frigate birds are hearty fliers, staying on the wing for a week at a time. When not airborne they can be found in tropical and subtropical coastal waters eating fish. This bird usually has only one chick.