Blackbird or Black Bird? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Common blackbird

Common blackbirds are native to Europe and Asia and are therefore often known as the Eurasian blackbird, particularly in North America. They were introduced to Australia in the 1850s, where they became unpopular interlopers thanks to their habit of damaging garden plants, fruit, and vegetable patches. The genus Turdus includes over 60 species of true thrush - many of which are known for their singing ability; although the most famous, the nightingale, has since been reclassified as a type of flycatcher. Common blackbirds are capable of an array of tuneful warbling sounds in addition to (somewhat less melodious) high-pitched alarm calls and aggressive warning noises aimed at potential invaders of their territory.

These birds are often monogamous with pairs staying together for multiple breeding seasons and staunchly defending their nesting sites and territory together. However, outside of the breeding season the males and females tend to live in separate areas of the territory. Female and juvenile blackbirds can be easily differentiated from the adult males because they aren't actually black birds - they have predominantly brown plumage, with the juveniles tending to be slightly speckled.

The lark bunting is an American member of the sparrow family, the groove-billed ani is a tropical cuckoo and the Eurasian jackdaw is a type of crow.

Answer: Carrion crow

The carrion crow belongs to the Corvidae family, members of which are among the most intelligent birds in the world. Various types of crow have been observed making and using tools (generally to obtain food rather than for use in complicated DIY projects), a skill which few birds or other animals have ever managed to master. In urban environments crows also make good use of human activity, for example by dropping nuts onto roads in order to get passing cars to break the shells open.

The carrion crow's black plumage has a glossy greenish or purple tint. They are native to western Europe and eastern Asia, two populations that probably became separated during the last ice age. They are also particularly close relatives of the hooded crow, a bird that can be found inhabiting the area in between (eastern Europe and western Asia). Although they have an extremely wide omnivorous diet including insects and hunted prey, a lot of their food tends to be carrion - decaying meat of already dead creatures.

The turkey vulture has brownish-black feathers and is a scavenger, but is not known for specifically feasting on turkeys; and the barnacle goose has large patches of black plumage and definitely prefers grass to barnacles. The saffron-cowled blackbird is named after the decorative flashes of yellow feathers in its plumage rather than for quaffing saffron - one of the most expensive spices available.

Answer: Coot

The coot (aka the common or Eurasian coot) is generally found on shallow inland waterways and lakes. In the water it may look a bit like a black duck, but on land its long legs and striding run clearly identify it as something different - a member of the rail family. Coots might be good at walking, running and swimming, but they are notoriously poor fliers and tend to make quite a splash as they attempt to take-off directly from the water.

The white patch on a coot's face is known as a 'frontal shield', a plate of skin that extends from the upper beak and over the forehead - so it can lay claim to being completely black-feathered. They cannot however lay claim to the title of 'parent of the year' as coots have a habit of concentrating only on their strongest offspring - particularly when food is scarce - and actually attacking the weaker chicks, before killing them outright or leaving them to starve to death.

The white-browed blackbird has a distinctive white patch of feathers over its eye, although its bright red breast plumage is actually a more striking feature. The anhinga is a large black seabird (albeit with a distinctly green tinge and plenty of white wing feathers). Frankly neither of these birds resemble a duck in any way, but the black scoter looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and is, in fact, a duck.

Answer: Jamaican blackbird

The Jamaican blackbird is endemic to Jamaica and listed as an endangered species due to its small range and the threat of habitat loss from forestry, farming and bauxite mining. It is limited to some central areas of the island; Cockpit Country, Jamaica's largest rainforest; and the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park in the south-east. The John Crow mountain range is actually named after another black(ish) bird - the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura), also known as the John crow.

Jamaican blackbirds actually behave much more like a woodpecker than a typical blackbird. As Jamaica does not have any native woodpecker species, the Jamaican blackbird has taken over the role, spending a lot of its time hanging about on tree trunks and foraging for insects amongst the bark. In evolutionary terms it has adapted well, having shorter legs, longer claws, a longer beak and a significantly stronger jaw than the most other blackbird species.

The African openbill is a black stork found across much of Africa, including Niger and Nigeria. The Australian (or Torresian) crow is found in north and west Australia and is completely black except for its distinctive white eyes.

Answer: Double-crested cormorant

The double-crested cormorant is a large black seabird whose diet consists of fish, complemented by the odd amphibian or crustacean. Despite doing a lot of diving to retrieve their dinner, cormorants in general do not have waterproof feathers, so have to spend some time after each fishing expedition hanging around in the breeze until their feathers dry out. Double-crested cormorants are found across North America - inhabiting a wide variety of areas from Alaska in the north to Florida in the south.

Although predominantly black, the crest that gives this cormorant its name is a striking set of white feathers that stick out jauntily from each side of the head. However, it only has this addition to its plumage during the breeding season and non-breeding adults and juveniles do not have it at all.

The pale-eyed blackbird is found in the swamps of Ecuador and Peru, crimson-collared grosbeaks are primarily native to Mexico, and the brown-headed cowbird is a brood parasite found across North America.

Answer: Rusty blackbird

'Rusty grackle' is an older name for the rusty blackbird, which spends its summers (with black feathers) in the forests of northern Canada. A quick moult leaves it with its trademark rusty feathers, which is how the bird is likely to be recognised in the United States, as it migrates there for the winter. They generally eat insects and fish but will also kill and eat other small birds - not the sort of behaviour expected of the blackbirds which frequent people's gardens and warble tuneful songs.

Rusty blackbirds have suffered massive population losses since the 1970s, possibly due to habitat loss. They were classified as a 'vulnerable' species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2007.

The rusty-tailed flycatcher and the rusty lark are not noted for having many black feathers (in summer or otherwise). However, the rusty tinamou does have quite a lot of black bars (or stripes) across its plumage.

Answer: Black oystercatcher

All oystercatchers belong to the genus Haematopus. The black oystercatcher's Latin name, Haematopus bachmani, derives from John Bachman, a Lutheran minister from North Carolina who was a friend and collaborator of the noted ornithologist, John James Audubon. Other creatures named in his honour are Bachman's sparrow, Bachman's warbler (unfortunately now believed to be extinct) and Bachman's hare (aka the brush rabbit).

Black oystercatchers are rarely seen away from the coastline, although they can be found over a wide range from the Aleutian Islands in the north to Baja California in the south. It is highly territorial during the breeding season, when it nests close to the shore in small depressions lined with pebbles or shells - luckily its eggs are capable of withstanding being submerged at high tide! Many species of oystercatcher have striking black plumage - the black oystercatcher should not be confused with either the blackish oystercatcher, the African black oystercatcher or the sooty oystercatcher amongst others.

The chopi blackbird is native to South America; the fish crow is from the eastern United States; and although the black storm petrel is generally found around the western coast of the Americas, it spends most of its time in air and is a notoriously poor walker.

Answer: Hill myna

The hill myna, or common hill myna, has black plumage with a yellow or orange beak, feet and wattles. However, its voice is its most striking feature due to its skill in accurately mimicking human speech as well as producing an array of tuneful whistles, screeches and other vocalisations. Although there is a tendency to assume that talking birds are members of the parrot family, the hill myna is actually a type of starling.

The hill myna is not generally considered an endangered species in the wild, but in certain areas of southern Asia, including Bangladesh, Thailand and parts of the Philippines, these birds have suffered significant population loss due to the illegal pet trade. Anyone wanting to keep a hill myna bird in captivity as an entertaining pet should be careful to ensure that they obtain one through a reputable breeder, importer or pet store.

The glossy black cockatoo can be found in eastern Australia; the Senegal parrot from western Africa has smoky grey-black face feathers (but is predominantly green and yellow); and the oriole blackbird from South America actually has more bright yellow feathers than black ones.

Answer: Melodious blackbird

Despite its watery sounding Latin name, Dives dives is in fact a species of blackbird - a melodious blackbird to be precise - and not a type of waterfowl. Although adult birds are almost exclusively black (the exception being their irises which are dark brown), juveniles have more brownish-black plumage and lack the glossy appearance of their parents.

The range of the melodious blackbird extends from southern Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south and they are common visitors to urban areas, with gardens being popular foraging grounds for their favourite dinner - insects! Mated pairs are often heard singing duets and will work together to defend the territory around their nest, however outside of the breeding season they become more gregarious and tend to congregate together in small flocks.

The glossy ibis is a reddish-brown wading bird; the magnificent frigatebird is mainly black, except for an enormous balloon-like red patch under its throat that it uses in courtship displays; and the black-cheeked lovebird is a small parrot with dark patches on the sides of its face.

Answer: Black swan

The black swan has featured on the flag of Western Australia since 1870 and on the state's coat of arms since they were first granted in 1969. When waddling on land or serenely gliding across the water it can be easily identified by its apparently all black plumage and red beak. However, once it takes to the air its striking white flight feathers become visible.

The character Odile in Tchaikovsky's famous ballet 'Swan Lake' is sometimes known as the 'Black Swan'. She is the daughter of an evil witch; masquerades as the heroine, Odette, for nefarious purposes; and the dancer portraying her usually wears a black costume. Obviously, real life black swans are not evil, but they are not exactly cute and cuddly either - like most swans they are actually quite dangerous birds easily capable of inflicting severe injuries on humans.

The male unicoloured blackbird has all black plumage, but the female is mostly yellow and brown. The black-headed gull is predominantly white, like most gulls, and doesn't actually have a black head (it's dark brown). The black vulture has no feathers on its neck and head, but luckily its skin is dark grey or black so its baldness isn't as noticeable as it might otherwise be!