Members of the Crow/Corvid Family Quiz

Answer:

These are the birds that belong to the crow/corvid family:

Blue Jays are more related to crows than they are to other blue birds like bluebirds (which belong to the thrush family). Blue jays have complex social behaviors and problem-solving skills; their excellent memory is exhibited by their storing and retrieving of thousands of seeds. They have a wide variety of calls, most notably their loud "jay! jay!" scream. They are do a good impression of hawks, especially the red-shouldered hawk.

The chough (pronounced "chuff") comes in two species: the red-billed chough and the Alpine chough. They are built to live in rugged, mountainous and coastal habitats, and they have slender, curved bills and bright red or yellow legs which make them look different from other birds in the crow family.

The jackdaw is a corvid bird too, and also comes in two flavors, er... species, the Eurasian jackdaw and Daurian jackdaw. In addition to the normal corvid family bird skills, jackdaws also seem able to recognize human faces. Their name comes from their distinctive, high-pitched "chack" bird call. They have bright pale eyes, and are black or dark grey with silvery-grey shiny coloring on the back of their neck. They are among the smallest members of the crow family.

Magpies are also known for their self-awareness as demonstrated by the "mirror test" in which a bird is secretly marked on a part of its body that it cannot see directly without the use of a mirror, so, typically on their forehead or throat. The bird's behavior without a mirror around is observed to see if it tries to do anything about the mark. Then a mirror is placed in the environment and if the bird then is in front of the mirror and uses the reflection to touch the mark on its own body, it indicates that the bird understands that the image is a reflection is itself and not some other bird.

There are three species of nutcrackers, all belonging to the crow family: the spotted nutcracker, Clark's nutcracker, and large-spotted nutcracker. The impressive memory of the Clark's nutcracker is displayed by its hiding thousands of pine seeds in the summer/fall and then remembering the locations of the hiding places throughout the winter. Like other corvids, they are omnivorous, eating insects, eggs, carrion, seeds. Their name comes from their ability to crack open nuts with hard shells, using their strong, sharp bills.

The piapiac member of the crow family, is native to sub-Saharan Africa, one of the few corvids found in tropical Africa, since corvids generally prefer temperature zones. The piapiac's ability to thrive in savannas and open woodlands is an example of the corvid family's adaptability. It has black plumage, a long tail, and a slender, curved black bill, and is a little smaller than the crow. They have a wide variety of sounds: chattering, whistling, and an ability to mimic calls.

The pica genus of bird is a member of the corvid family. All pica birds in the pica genus are commonly called magpies, but not all birds called "magpies" belong to the genus Pica. The Pica is a group of birds within the crow family; most of which people in Europe, Asia, and North America imagine when they hear the term "magpie." Picas have black-and-white plumage, accompanied by iridescent blue or green coloring on the wings, and they have very long tails. The common name "magpie" is also used for some other birds in the crow family that are not closely related to the picas.

Who is that rapping on my door? Why, it's the raven, the largest member of the corvid family of birds, significantly larger than crows, and with large, powerful, slightly curved beaks. Their tails are wedge-shaped, long and pointed. Ravens have long, shaggy feathers on their throat called "hackles." Their call is a low-pitched "gronk-gronk" kind of croak. Like crows, when ravens encounter a deceased fellow raven, they will often call loudly, summoning others to the scene. A fitting macabre behavior for the storied raven made famous by Edgar Allan Poe. Ornithologists theorize it's a way for them to learn about potential dangers in the surroundings.

The rook is one of the most common corvids from Western Europe to Eastern Siberia, preferring open areas, like pastures, and arable land with tall trees where they nest in colonies called rookeries. They stay away from dense forests and urban environs. Adult rooks have a pale, featherless patch around the base of their slender bill, and shaggy almost messy-looking feathers around their thighs.

The treepie bird of the corvid family has a long tail, and bold patterns in gray, black, or reddish-brown. They inhabit forests and woodlands across India, Southeast Asia, and China. They seem to engage in play behavior by for example sliding down smooth branches repeatedly, seemingly just for fun. But there could be other purposes to this activity, such as sharpening their beak or claws as they slide along the bark. Or, their sliding maybe causes the branches to vibrate and either startle or shake insects, lizards, or other prey, making them easier to catch.

And now for a look at the wrong answers:

The blackbird is not a member of the corvid/crow family - it belongs to the thrush bird family. It might seem odd that the blackbird is not in the blackbird family, but it's not; it's in the thrush bird family. The grackle however, is in the blackbird family of birds.

The black scoter is a seaduck with black plumage and belongs to the anatidae family of birds.

Neither the house martin nor the kestrel is a corvid. They are members of the swallow family and the falcon family respectively.