Animal Words - Birds Trivia Quiz | Thematic Animals

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. To boast or to brag (4 letters)

Answer: Corvus corone

Corvus corone, the carrion crow - a common European bird of the family Corvidae. The verb "to crow", meaning to brag or boast about one's achievements, stems from the Old English "crawan", while the bird's name derives via the Old English "crawe". Both words ultimately derive via the Proto-Germanic "krēaną" from the Proto-Indo-European "gerH-", meaning "to cry hoarsely".

2. A chess piece, or to cheat somebody (4 letters)

Answer: Corvus frugilegus

Corvus frugilegus, the rook - a common European bird of the Corvid family. The verb "to rook", meaning to cheat somebody, probably comes from the bird's name which derives from the Old English "hroc". The name of the chess piece derives from the Persian "rox" meaning "castle" via the Old French "roc"

3. To complain or grumble (6 letters)

Answer: Lagopus lagopus scotica

Lagopus lagopus scotica, the red grouse - a bird of the family Phasianidae, found only in the British Isles. The derivation of the verb "to grouse", meaning to grumble or complain, is unclear; it probably comes via the Old French "groucier" meaning somebody who complains (related to the word "grouch"), and then from the Frankish "grotijan", meaning to scold.

The origin of the bird's name is unknown; it may derive from the Proto-Indo-European "gerH-", meaning "to cry hoarsely".

4. To be fearful and trembling (5 letters)

Answer: Coturnix coturnix

Coturnix coturnix, the common quail - a common European bird of the family Phasianidae. The verb "to quail", meaning to be fearful or trembling, stems from the Proto-German "kwelana" meaning to suffer, while the bird's name derives from the Latin word for quail, "quaccola".

The slang usage of the word quail for a young woman came about because the quail was thought to be a very amatory bird.

5. A stupid or ignorant person, especially when walking (3 letters)

Answer: Garrulus glandarius

Garrulus glandarius, the Eurasian jay - a common bird of the family Corvidae found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Both the noun "jay" meaning a stupid person and the bird's name derive via the Old French "gai" meaning "merry" from the Proto-Germanic "ganhuz" meaning "sudden". The word "jaywalking" obviously comes from the word jay.

6. A machine for lifting heavy weights (5 letters)

Answer: Grus grus

Grus grus, the common crane - a common European bird of the family Gruidae. Both the noun "crane", meaning a machine for lifting, and the bird's name stem from the Proto-Indo-European "gerH", meaning "to cry hoarsely"; the machines for lifting are so-named because of their resemblance to the bird.

7. To shoot at somebody from a hidden place (5 letters)

Answer: Gallinago gallinago

Gallinago gallinago, the common snipe, a wading bird of the family Fennoscandia found in Palearctic regions. The verb "to snipe", meaning to shoot at somebody especially at long range and from a hidden position, comes from the practice of hunting snipe which were held to be elusive prey. Presumably it was also easier to say "to snipe" than "to redshank" or "to bar-tailed godwit".

The bird's name comes from the Old Norse "snipa" meaning "moor bird".

8. Fast, quick or rapid (5 letters)

Answer: Apus apus

Apus apus, the common swift, a bird of the family Apodiformes found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. Both the adjective "swift", meaning fast or quick, and the bird's name stem via the Proto-Germanic "swiftaz" meaning "fast", from the Proto-Indo-European "sweyp" meaning "to twist".

The family name stems from the ancient belief that swifts had no feet, because they were so rarely seen on the ground.

9. Somebody who is crazy (6 letters)

Answer: Cuculus canorus

Cuculus canorus, the common cuckoo, a bird belonging to the family Cuculiformes and found in Africa and Asia. Both the bird's name and the slang use for somebody who is crazy derive from the bird's characteristic call. For example, the Latin is "cuculus".

10. Of fundamental or pivotal importance (8 letters)

Answer: Cardinalis cardinalis

Cardinalis cardinalis, the northern cardinal, a bird of the family Cardinalidae found in North America. The adjective "cardinal" meaning of critical or fundamental importance derives from the Latin "cardinalis" meaning "a hinge" - i.e., something that pivots, turns or depends on a hinge.

As for the bird's name: cardinals were very important people in the Roman Catholic church and wore red robes. Thus the bright red northern cardinal was named from the cardinals' colours.

Source: Author Southendboy

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Questions		Choices
1. To boast or to brag (4 letters)		Coturnix coturnix
2. A chess piece, or to cheat somebody (4 letters)		Corvus corone
3. To complain or grumble (6 letters)		Lagopus lagopus scotica
4. To be fearful and trembling (5 letters)		Gallinago gallinago
5. A stupid or ignorant person, especially when walking (3 letters)		Garrulus glandarius
6. A machine for lifting heavy weights (5 letters)		Apus apus
7. To shoot at somebody from a hidden place (5 letters)		Corvus frugilegus
8. Fast, quick or rapid (5 letters)		Cuculus canorus
9. Somebody who is crazy (6 letters)		Cardinalis cardinalis
10. Of fundamental or pivotal importance (8 letters)		Grus grus

Animal Words - Birds Trivia Quiz

You're given the definition of a word that is also the name of a common bird, and your task is to match the two. To make things a bit more challenging, the name of the bird is in Latin! With one exception, the species given are all UK birds.