Australian Native Birds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tawny Frogmouths

The poor old frogmouth is not the prettiest bird in Australia, but it is a fascinating creature, nonetheless. Like the owl, they are carnivores, feeding on mice, rats, frogs, beetles, etc. Their call is a deep, drumlike 'oom-oom', and they are common across most of the country.

Willy Wagtails are very gregarious flycatchers, and a friarbird is a type of honeyeater. A teal is a species of duck.

Answer: Superb Lyrebird

The male lyrebird looks rather unspectacular until he displays his magnificent tail-feathers, which are used to impress the lady lyrebirds. Two large outer feathers form the lyre shape, with wispier brown-white feathers forming the 'strings'.

The lyrebird is also a superb mimic, and can imitate most birds and animal sounds that are heard in the forests.

The spoonbill has a bill roughly the size and shape of a soup spoon, the trumpeter swan is an American bird, and the drummer is actually a fish!

Answer: Cassowary

While the emu is taller, the Southern cassowary is substantially heavier. An imposing looking creature, it sports a horny casque, or helmet, a bright blue neck and wattles similar to a turkey. Like the emu, its main defence is its powerful legs and large, sharp toes that can easily disembowel a human. They stand approximately 2 metres tall, and can weigh over 85 kilograms!

The rhea is native to South America, while the ostrich is African.

Answer: Eastern Rosella

Australia is home to approximately 20% of the world's parrots, which range in size from the budgerigar to the sulphur-crested cockatoo.

The wildly colourful Rosella (there are about eight different varieties) can be found throughout most of southern Australia, and for many years was the symbol of Rosella tomato sauce.

The thylacine is the scientific name for the extinct Tasmanian tiger.

Answer: Pale grey with black feather tips

At one stage the Cape Barren Goose was close to extinction, but careful management has restored a healthy population to various locations along the southern areas of Australia, particularly on the Bass Strait islands.

Roughly the size of a domestic goose, it has a 'honk' sound like that bird, but can also emit a pig-like grunt.

Answer: Kingfisher

The distinctive laughing call, usually heard early in the morning, led this bird to be known as the 'Bushman's Clock'. They are the largest kingfishers in the world, with the blue-winged and laughing kookaburras growing to about 45 centimetres. They are generally off-white in colour with dark brown wings, and a brown 'mask' on their face.

They have a long powerful beak, and feast on rodents, insects, fish, and even snakes. Scientifically, they belong to the Halcyonidae family.

Answer: Fairy penguin

The fairy penguin, also known as the little penguin, is the smallest of the penguin family (maximum height is approximately 35 centimetres) and can be found from southern Western Australia to the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Like all penguins, they are flightless, but are excellent swimmers.

The other three types of penguin listed are all native to Antarctica.

Answer: Wedge-Tailed Eagle

The 'wedgie' has an average wingspan of over 2.5 metres, which is only exceeded by the wandering albatross, marabou stork and the Andean condor.

They are distributed over most of the drier areas of the continent and feed on rabbits, young kangaroos, lambs (much to the frustration of farmers), other birds and carrion.

Answer: Brolga

The brolga, also known as the Native Companion, is noted for its very elaborate mating ritual. Their 'dance' consists of graceful wing-flapping, ballet-like leaps, and even throwing objects in the air.

Bralgah was a beautiful Aboriginal maid that preferred dancing to working, and legend has it that she was turned into the beautiful brolga.

A drongo is Aussie slang for a fool, but is also a crow-like bird of Africa, India and Australia.

Thanks to quizplayer Xanthomyza, for information about the other species, the Sarus crane.

Answer: Underground

The pardalote is one of the smallest birds in Australia, measuring just 10 centimetres. They are similar to wrens, but more colourful, and very active- it is very rare to see one actually sitting still.

They dig a tunnel into the southern side of a sandy or loamy bank, and build a nest at the end, and line it with gum leaves.

Thank you for playing my quiz. If you liked this one, please have a go at my other Aussie-themed quizzes.