Raptor Rapture - A Bird of Prey Quiz

Answer: They catch and kill their food with their feet

Other types of birds, such as herons and kookaburras, eat meat. Some non-raptors, such as shrikes and frigate birds, have hooked beaks. But only raptors catch and kill their food with their feet; other birds use their beaks.

Answer: hawk

Don't let the word "buzzard" confuse you. In the New World (especially the U.S.) it is sometimes used to refer to vultures, but in the Old World "buzzard" is used exclusively to refer to hawks. There are 10 different kinds of buzzards in Africa and 3 kinds of buzzards in Europe.

Answer: False

New World vultures (Family Cathartidae) are not raptors because they do not kill their food with their feet. In fact, New World vultures have weak feet and very blunt nails. Recent genetic tests have shown that they are actually a type of stork! Some organizations, such as the American Ornithologist's Union, have already re-classified them under the Order Ciconiiformes, in order to reflect this.

Answer: turkey

Benjamin Franklin felt that the bald eagle was lazy and cowardly compared to the turkey. In a famous letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin wrote: "For my own part, I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country... For in truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

Answer: True

Owls have an amazing sense of hearing. Barred owls find rodents during the winter by hearing them tunneling under the snow. Scientists have found that some owls, such as barn owls, can locate and catch prey even in complete darkness!

Answer: "To seize, carry away"

It is derived from the Latin word "rapere" which means "to seize, take, carry away, caught up". "Rapere" is also the basis for the English words "rape", "rapt", "rapture", "ravish", and the dinosaur known as "velociraptor". It refers to the way that raptors seize their prey with their feet and carry it away.

In case you're curious, the wrong answers were all from Latin words beginning with an "a". "Acer" or "acre" (from which the words "acerbic", "acrid", and "exacerbate" were derived) means "sharp or fierce". "Adoriri" means "to attack". Lastly, "aberro" (from which "aberration" was derived) means "to wander".

Answer: hawk

The sound most often heard is that of a red-tailed hawk. A few other hawks, such as Swainson's hawks and ferruginous hawks, also make a similar noise. Unfortunately, the sound is often incorrectly attributed to eagles, even though eagles do not make a sound even remotely close to it.

For example, the eagles in the recent "Lord of the Rings" trilogy were inaccurately given this "keeeaaaarrrr" hawk sound. Many television and movie marketers feel that the true sounds made by eagles are not as majestic-sounding, and so when they show an eagle they play a red-tailed hawk's call instead.

In real life, a bald eagle makes short, squeaky sounds that sound sort of like a cartoon duck laughing. Similarly, a golden eagle makes sounds like "keyelp" or a series of sharp sounding "ki-ki-ki-ki" calls.

Answer: Female

Females can be up to one third or a half times larger than the males, depending upon the species. This is called "reverse sexual dimorphism", and is most noticeable in the fast, bird-eating species like falcons and accipiters.

Answer: osprey

Ospreys rarely, if ever, eat anything other than live fish. Even in zoos and other captive situations, most ospreys must be specially trained first in order to eat dead fish. Fish eagles often eat flamingos and other birds in addition to fish. Bald eagles eat mammals and birds in addition to fish. Butcherbirds are a type of insect-eating songbird - they are not raptors and they do not eat fish.

Answer: False

Raptors have a very poor sense of smell. Their well-developed eyes and ears take up so much room in their skulls that there is little room left for olfactory organs. One testament to how poorly they can smell is that many great horned owls love to eat skunks. They don't notice the stench at all!