The Bird is the Word #3 (For Kids) Quiz

The house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) is a small songbird native to the western United States and Mexico that lives in open woods, deserts, and neighborhoods. Male house finches often have bright red feathers on their head and chest, while females are brown and streaky, which helps them stay camouflaged.

They eat seeds and fruit and often gather at backyard feeders. In 1940, a few pet finches released on Long Island, New York, started a population that spread across the eastern United States. Today house finches are common across much of North America.

The American crow is a smart black bird that lives in many kinds of places across North America, including forests, farms, and cities. These crows are known for solving problems, using simple tools, and remembering people's faces. They eat almost anything: insects, fruit, nuts, small animals, and even leftovers from people.

In winter many crows gather in large roosts where thousands may sleep together, and family groups often warn each other about danger. Biologists call this bird Corvus brachyrhynchos.

The barnacle goose is a black and white goose that breeds way up in the Arctic on rocky islands and tundra and then flies south to spend the winter in places like the British Isles and the Netherlands. These geese often nest high on cliffs so foxes and polar bears cannot reach them, and when their fluffy babies hatch they cannot fly yet and must jump down from the cliffs to reach the feeding grounds below.

A long time ago people thought these birds came from barnacles on driftwood, which is how they got the name "barnacle" goose.

Its scientific name is Branta leucopsis.

The Somali ostrich (scientific name Struthio molybdophanes) is a very large, flightless bird that lives in the dry grasslands and scrub of the Horn of Africa, especially in Somalia, northeastern Ethiopia, Kenya, and parts of Djibouti. It looks similar to the common ostrich, but its neck and thigh skin are bluish gray, and males turn an even brighter blue during the breeding season, which helps tell them apart. Somali ostriches prefer semi arid savanna and scrub habitats and are one of the two living ostrich species. Conservation assessments list them as Vulnerable, so people are working to monitor and protect their populations.

The California gull (Larus californicus) is a medium sized gull that breeds in large colonies on islands and along lakes and marshes in western North America. Adults have a white head and body, a gray back, yellowish legs, and a yellow bill with a small red spot near the tip. California gulls eat many kinds of food, like insects, fish, eggs, and human leftovers.

This allows them to live in lots of different places, from marshes to parking lots! A famous story says these gulls ate huge numbers of Mormon crickets that were destroying crops in Utah in 1848. People later named the California gull the state bird of Utah to honor that event.

The Laughing kookaburra is a large kingfisher from eastern Australia that lives in open eucalypt forests, woodlands, parks, and gardens. The most noticeable thing about kookaburras is their loud, laugh-like call, which family groups often give together at dawn and dusk to mark their territory. Kookaburras sit on a branch, watch the ground, then swoop down to catch lizards, insects, frogs, small mammals, and sometimes snakes or fish.

They live in family groups where older brothers and sisters help the parents feed and protect the chicks.

The scientific name for them is Dacelo novaeguineae.

The American White Pelican is called Pelecanus erythrorhynchos by scientists. It is a giant water bird that lives in lakes, rivers, marshes, and shallow wetlands across much of North America in summer, and moves to coastal bays and estuaries in warmer places when winter comes.

It has a huge wingspan of up to about 2.9 meters (nearly 9-10 feet) and a long orange bill with a big pouch. However, unlike some pelicans it does not dive from the air to catch fish. Instead it swims near the water's surface and scoops up fish, water, and sometimes amphibians or crustaceans, then tips its head up to drain out the water before swallowing its yummy meal.

The Eurasian collared dove is a dove that originally lived in parts of Europe and Asia but was later introduced to other places and now lives in many towns, farms, and backyards in North America. It likes places where people live because seeds and grain are easy to find, and it often visits bird feeders or walks on the ground looking for seeds or bits of grain.

It also sometimes eats berries and insects. When it nests, both parents help build a simple twig nest in a tree or on a building. They take turns sitting on one or two white eggs until the baby doves hatch, and both parents feed the chicks.

The scientific name is Streptopelia decaocto.

The European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a small, colorful songbird that lives naturally in Europe, North Africa, and western and central Asia. It likes partly open places with scattered trees or shrubs, such as orchards, gardens, parks, farmlands, hedgerows, and woodland edges.

Its thin, pointed beak helps it pluck seeds from plants like thistles, dandelions, and teasels. It also eats small insects during the breeding season to feed chicks. When it's time to raise young, the female builds a neat cup nest from moss and plant fibers high in a tree or bush.

She lays four to six eggs, and both parents feed the chicks after they hatch.

The Blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) is a noisy, bright blue bird found across much of eastern and central North America. It has a pointed crest it can raise, and it eats seeds, nuts, fruits, and insects. Blue jays are famous for hiding many acorns, which helped oak trees spread after the last Ice Age. (A single bird can hide up to 5,000 acorns!) They are smart and social, make many loud calls, and live in family groups. Blue jays build cup nests in trees, lay three to six eggs, and both parents help care for the chicks.

The Common wood pigeon lives across much of Europe, parts of North Africa, and western Asia in woodlands, farms, parks, gardens, and cities. This pigeon is mostly gray with a pinkish-gray breast and a bright white patch on its neck that makes it easy to spot. It eats mostly plants and sometimes small creatures like worms or insects. Wood pigeons build a simple twig nest high in a tree or shrub. The female lays one to three white eggs, and both parents keep the eggs warm and feed the chicks. The eggs hatch after about 16-17 days, and the young stay in the nest for about four weeks before they fly.

The scientific name for the Wood Pigeon is Columba palumbus.

The California quail (Callipepla californica) is a ground dwelling bird of the western United States that lives in brushy hills, open woodlands, valleys with shrubs, and near streams, and it will use farms and suburbs if there is enough cover. While they live on the ground, they can fly when they want to in order to escape danger or just to get where they want to go.

It has a curled plume or "topknot" on its head that makes it easy to spot. California quail travel in groups called coveys, especially in fall and winter, and you might see a dozen or more together scratching the ground for seeds, leaves, berries, and sometimes insects. Families often care for many chicks together after they hatch.