Special Sub-Topic: Weird Animal Names Click Here To Play: Weird Animal Names

Which of these is *not* the name of a real bird?

Painted tit. The tits and titmice are a group of small, mainly European, insectivorous birds. Most have crests.

What the heck is a superciliaried hemispingus?

A type of songbird. The superciliaried hemispingus is a tanager, a bird in the songbird family. Tanagers are usually brightly colored. Although I have been unable to find pictures of this species, I'd expect it to have marks above the eyes ("superciliaried") and a half-spined something ("hemispingus")!

Which of these is *not* a real primate?

Motmot. The motmot is a bird. Pottos are primitive primates related to bushbabies. The tit monkey is a small South American monkey. The sportive lemur is a small lemur from Madagascar.

Which of these is *not* a real scientific name for an animal?

Teeni critur. Ba humbugi is a kind of snail. Agra vation is a species of ground beetle. Heerz lukenatcha is a parasitic wasp.

In 1955, Brennan and Beck named a species of chigger "Trombicula doremi." Following this musical pattern, they named their next find "Trombicula __________"

fasola. As far as I know, there is no Trombicula tido. Even scientists have to stop somewhere.

Which of the following is *not* the name of a real hoofed animal?

Coypu. A pudu is a tiny deer; a dik-dik is an even tinier African antelope. No, a reebok isn't just a shoe, it's also a water-loving African antelope. A coypu is an aquatic rodent.

Which is *not* a real marsupial?

Wahoo. The boodie is a type of rat kangaroo. The cuscus is a type of possum. The wahoo is a fish.

Bats often look as strange as their names. Which is *not* a species of bat?

Dracula bat. Unsurprisingly, the hammer-headed bat has a hammer-shaped head. The little flying cow doesn't look anything like a cow to me, but some people have active imaginations. The hollow-faced bat has so much ornamentation around its face that it looks hollow.

What is a kaka?

A New Zealand parrot. The rather-dull-colored kaka is named for its call.

Which *isn't* a real bird?

Tuco-tuco. The booby is a large seabird. The goatsucker is related to the whipporwill. The tinkling cisticola is a small songbird named for its call. The tuco-tuco is a South American rodent.