Furred, Feathered, or Floating Quiz

Answer: Feathered

Falcons are birds of prey that can be found all around the world. Their main food source is usually smaller birds (who they attack in mid-flight), or a range of rodents (like mice, voles or rats) who they snatch up from the ground. The falcon family includes over 40 different species, one of which - the peregrine falcon - is the fastest animal in the world.

When peregrine falcons swoop down through the sky while hunting they can reach speeds of over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h). That's about three times faster than the top speed of a cheetah.

Answer: Furred

Foxes can be found right around the world, but the most widespread species is the red fox, Vulpes vulpes. Other well-known species of fox include the white-furred (in winter) Arctic fox and the enormous-eared fennec fox. Foxes are generally associated with being clever and cunning and often turn up as characters in children's stories - the Foxy-Whiskered Gentleman was a well-dressed fox who almost tricked Jemima Puddle-duck into becoming his dinner in a story by Beatrix Potter; Mr Fox and his family outsmart a bunch of human farmers in Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr Fox'; and an orphaned fox develops an unlikely friendship with a dog in Disney's 1981 film 'The Fox and the Hound'.

Answer: Floating

Although (most) birds can fly, the creature called a 'flier' is actually a fish. The flier has the Latin name Centrarchus macropterus and is a type of sunfish native to swampy areas of the southern United States. Knowing about the existence of this fish really helps to explain why the US Navy gave one of their submarines the name 'USS Flier' in 1943, despite the rather obvious fact that most birds don't spend a lot of time slinking about underwater.

The flier also shouldn't be confused with flying fish - which are a whole other fish family noted for their ability to leap out of the water and glide through the air.

Answer: Furred

Fossas are only found on the island of Madagascar. They are often described as "cat-like" creatures but genetic analysis has shown that they are actually closely related to the mongoose. Although their official classification has changed on various occasions there is no doubt about the fact that they are mammals. Like cats, fossas are carnivorous and Madagascar's famous lemurs make up the majority of their diet.

A fossa appeared as the evil villain in the 2005 animated movie 'Madagascar' and fossas have also appeared in several of its sequels and spin-offs.

Answer: Floating

The word 'flounder' means flailing about helplessly, usually in or near water. This should give a clue to the fact that a flounder is also a type of flatfish that is generally found in shallow water. One odd fact about all the different species of flounder (along with other types of flatfish) is that they are hatched with one eye on each side of their head, but undergo a process of metamorphosis in which one of the eyes moves through their body to end up on the same side as the other one. Flatfish tend to spend much of their time sitting on or close to the seabed, so it does make some sense for both of their eyes to be on the side that faces upwards!

Answer: Feathered

Flamingos are tall wading birds that are instantly recognisable because of their pink feathers. The pink colour comes from a pigment called beta carotene that is found in the food they eat (a mixture of plankton, algae, small crustaceans and insects). Birds that eat more beta carotene have brighter feathers than those whose diet contains less of it. Beta carotene is also found in fruit and vegetables like mangoes, pumpkins and carrots - luckily humans don't process it in the same way as flamingos, so our hair doesn't turn orange if we eat a lot of carrots!

Answer: Furred

The ferret is a subspecies of the European polecat, which isn't a type of cat but a member of the weasel family. Ferrets were probably domesticated by humans well over two thousand years ago and would have been used for hunting small animals like rabbits rather than their more modern role as family pets.

While most ferrets live in captivity, some have escaped back into the wild and established feral populations by cross-breeding with polecats. The domestic ferret lives for around seven to ten years on average and makes an intelligent, but time-consuming, pet.

Answer: Feathered

As their name might suggest, flycatchers are a type of bird whose main diet consists of small insects that they usually catch while flying. There are hundreds of different species of flycatchers and they can be found in all parts of the world - with the exception of Antarctica. Some species have quite dull brown plumage, but others are brightly-coloured and very pretty little creatures.

Not all flycatchers have the word 'flycatcher' in their name. The European robin, a cute little bird with brown wings and a red breast that is associated with Christmas, is also a member of the flycatcher family.

Answer: Floating

The fangtooth is a fish that lives in the deepest and coldest parts of the ocean and you're very unlikely to ever see one being kept as a pet in a fish tank. It is named after its massive bottom teeth, which are so big that it is unable to completely close its mouth.

While it has the biggest teeth of any fish in proportion to its body size, the fangtooth's teeth aren't that intimidating as it is relatively small, measuring about 15 cm (6 inches) in length. Fangtooths (not "fangteeth") use their teeth to catch and eat other small fish and squid and definitely don't consume humans.

Answer: Furred

Although bats fly, they are mammals, not birds, and have fur rather than feathers. Fruit bats are also known as megabats as they are quite a bit bigger than many other bat species. Like the name suggests, fruit makes up a large part of a fruit bat's diet, and they are known to both eat the fruit itself or suck out the fruit's juice.

They will also eat nectar by licking flowers and are important distributors of pollen and seeds. While bats are often thought of as having poor eyesight (the phrase "blind as a bat" springs to mind), fruit bats actually have extremely good sight and as a result most have no need to navigate by echolocation (bouncing sounds off surfaces and judging distance and direction from the resulting echoes).