Chipmunk or Chickadee? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bird

The chaffinch is a common small bird from the finch family, and is found over most of Europe. It has a loud twittering song, and small flocks feed on seeds on the ground when they are not raising chicks. This is probably how the chaffinch got its name: after farmers threshed their crops the birds would spend a long time picking through the leftover chaff searching for grain.

In the nesting season chaffinches feed their chicks on things like caterpillars.

Answer: Bird

Chickadees are very common small birds found over most of North America. Supposedly, their name comes from their alarm call of "Chick-a-dee-dee-dee".

There are several different species of chickadee, and their preferred habitat is woodland. Mountain chickadees hide caches of seeds for the winter and are quite good at finding them again.

Answer: Bird

Chickens are domesticated birds and are kept for their meat and eggs, and also as pets. There are many different types of chicken and they are found all over the world except Antarctica.

They are descended from the red junglefowl found in south-east Asia. When allowed to live naturally, chickens scratch the soil to find seeds and insects to eat: they will also eat worms, small lizards and snakes, small mice, and they will peck at plants.

Answer: Mammal

Chipmunks are mammals. They are small striped squirrels, and are mostly found across North America; there is one species, the Siberian chipmunk, in Asia.

Although they mainly eat seeds, nuts, fruits and buds, chipmunks are omnivores and will also eat insects, worms, small frogs, bird eggs and nestlings. Chipmunks store food for the winter, helping to spread plants when some of the stored seeds germinate in the spring.

Answer: Mammal

Chinchillas are mammals, and come from the Andes Mountains of South America. They look a bit like big grey furry mice with fluffy tails. In the wild, they eat plant leaves, seeds, fruit and insects. Their fur is very thick and soft.

Domestic chinchillas are descended from wild chinchillas, and are fairly commonly kept as pets. They can live up to 20 years in captivity.

Answer: Mammal

The cheetah is a mammal; it is one of the big cats and looks like a leopard, but is slimmer and has longer legs. They are the fastest land mammal and can run at about 60 mph. Cheetahs eat small to medium sized animals such as gazelles.

Although we think of cheetahs as African animals, they are also found in Iran; like many of the big cats, cheetah numbers are falling - mainly due to loss of habitat as humans use more land for agriculture and industry - but some African countries now have cheetah conservation programs.

Answer: Fish

The char (also called Arctic char, or charr) is a fish related to the salmon and is found in the Northern Hemisphere: populations can be found in coastal waters, rivers and lakes. Their size and colouring is very variable, but adults often have a red or orange belly.

Char have a very wide diet, and will eat almost anything they can find - for example, eggs of other fish, insects, snails, crustaceans, and smaller fish. Polar bears and sea otters eat char, and they are a popular fish for commercial fish farming.

Answer: Fish

The chub is a common freshwater fish found in Europe in rivers, canals and lakes. They feed on worms, molluscs, crustaceans, and insect larvae; adult chub also eat other species of small fish, crayfish, frogs, voles, and waterbird chicks, as well as blackberries and elderberries.

Chub can grow as large as 60cm long, and can live for about 20 years.

Answer: Fish

The channel bass is a sea fish found in Atlantic coastal waters from Massachusetts USA to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida round to Mexico. It is also known as redfish or red drum. Channel bass are a reddish colour on the back, lighter underneath, and have a black spot at the base of the tail (sometimes they have other black spots on their sides as well).

They typically feed on crabs, shrimp, and small fish, and can live to be 60 years old.

Answer: Reptile

Chaney's spiny lizard, sometimes called Chaney's Bunchgrass lizard, is a reptile found in Mexico, and is endangered in the wild. The "spiny" part of its name refers to its scales, which are pointed.

Like many lizards, it is an insectivore and eats things like ants, beetles, caterpillars, spiders and centipedes. These lizards live about 3 to 5 years.

Answer: Reptile

The Chaco tortoise is a reptile and is found in South America in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. It is about 25cm long and eats grasses, fruits, shrubs and cactus.

Chaco tortoises have a lifespan of around 20 years in the wild.

Answer: Reptile

The Chinese alligator is a carnivorous reptile: it usually eats fish, crabs, and other water-dwelling creatures, but will also catch small mammals and aquatic birds.

It is smaller than the American alligator and is usually black or dark grey in colour. It is very rare in the wild and is found only in a small area of Eastern China, although several zoos around the world have animals that are used in captive breeding programmes.