Birds of a Black Feather Trivia Quiz

People often tend to wax lyrical chirping the merits of the more colorful birds. This quiz relates to birds whose color schemes consist of black plumage, perhaps mixed with other colors. I have used common names for my answers.

A matching quiz by windrush. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
windrush

Time
5 mins

Type
Match Quiz

Quiz #
382,850

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
443

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 108 (3/10), Guest 216 (6/10), Guest 68 (6/10).

Mobile instructions: Press on an answer on the right. Then, press on the gray box it matches on the left.

(a) Drag-and-drop from the right to the left, or (b) click on a right side answer box and then on a left side box to move it.

Questions	Choices
1. This graceful bird has a musical bugling call, and is seen throughout Australian waterways. It appears black on the water, but has white flight feathers.	Great black-backed gull
2. In the northern hemisphere this bird is black and white with blue tail feathers. In Australia it is simply black and white.	Blackbird
3. This bird as a comical, waddling gait and a huge bill to scoop up and hold fish. It is very elegant on water and in the air.	Frigate bird
4. A member of the thrush family, this jet-black bird with yellow eye-ring and beak has a lovely call, and is called Eurasian in USA to avoid confusion with its own native (unrelated) birds.	Magpie
5. The adult has glossy black feathers. It is native of Europe, but was introduced to North America and Australia. It breeds quickly and carries parasites. It is shot on sight in Western Australia.	Ravens
6. England will not fall to a foreign invader so long as these birds inhabit the Tower of London - or so the rumour goes. Highly intelligent.	Black swan
7. This is the world's largest gull. It has black upper plumage and white head and breast.	Puffin
8. This bird is found mostly on the colder coastlines of the Southern Hemisphere. Varieties of this bird include fairy, macaroni, chinstrap and emperor.	Pelican
9. This seabird has black plumage with a white breast and beak. The mating male displays a huge red throat pouch.	Common starling
10. A member of the auk family, this stocky sea bird is mainly black with some white plumage and a large beak. The male's beak becomes very colorful during the breeding season.	Penguin

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This graceful bird has a musical bugling call, and is seen throughout Australian waterways. It appears black on the water, but has white flight feathers.

Answer: Black swan

Early European explorers were stunned to discover the black swan (Cygnus atratus) which has a distinctive call, unlike its mostly mute northern counterpart. The Swan River flows through Perth,and the black swan is Western Australia's state emblem.

2. In the northern hemisphere this bird is black and white with blue tail feathers. In Australia it is simply black and white.

Answer: Magpie

The magpie is well known in the northern hemisphere as a collector of shiny objects for its nest. In Australia, various shrikes are often mistakenly called magpies because of their colouring.

3. This bird as a comical, waddling gait and a huge bill to scoop up and hold fish. It is very elegant on water and in the air.

Answer: Pelican

In Australia this is a large black and white water bird with a wing span of up to 2.5 metres. An ungainly bird on the ground, it is a masterful soaring and formation flyer, and elegant and stately on water. Its northern hemisphere cousins are variously brown, white or grey.

4. A member of the thrush family, this jet-black bird with yellow eye-ring and beak has a lovely call, and is called Eurasian in USA to avoid confusion with its own native (unrelated) birds.

Answer: Blackbird

The blackbird (Turdus merula) has a beautiful song. It can be a nuisance in gardens where it scratches up and scatters mulch and topsoil, scratching for worms and grubs. The New World (American) blackbirds mostly have other colours mixed with their black plumage.

5. The adult has glossy black feathers. It is native of Europe, but was introduced to North America and Australia. It breeds quickly and carries parasites. It is shot on sight in Western Australia.

Answer: Common starling

The starling was introduced to Australia from Europe, and is now regarded as such a pest in urban areas that the Western Australian government employs sharp-shooters at its South Australian border, killing incoming starlings on their flight routes. A massive task, but so far largely successful.

6. England will not fall to a foreign invader so long as these birds inhabit the Tower of London - or so the rumour goes. Highly intelligent.

Answer: Ravens

There are several species of ravens, all members of the corvus (crow) family. With glossy black feathers, these omnivorous birds are found all over the world.

In Norse legend two ravens were Odin's companions, Thought and Memory.

7. This is the world's largest gull. It has black upper plumage and white head and breast.

Answer: Great black-backed gull

A carnivorous bird, the great black-backed gull is widely distributed through North Atlantic shores. It is a scavenger, stealing prey from other hunters, and even following blue whales many miles from land, feeding on the fish brought to the surface by the whale's movement through the water.

8. This bird is found mostly on the colder coastlines of the Southern Hemisphere. Varieties of this bird include fairy, macaroni, chinstrap and emperor.

Answer: Penguin

While penguins are found as far north as the Galapagos Islands, penguins are limited to the Southern Hemisphere. Flightless and ungainly on land, penguins are consummate swimmers, appearing to 'fly' through water.

9. This seabird has black plumage with a white breast and beak. The mating male displays a huge red throat pouch.

Answer: Frigate bird

Found on the Galapagos and other remote areas, frigate birds only stay on land during the breeding season. The male inflates his vivid red throat pouch like a balloon while vibrating his wings and gobbling to attract passing females.

10. A member of the auk family, this stocky sea bird is mainly black with some white plumage and a large beak. The male's beak becomes very colorful during the breeding season.

Answer: Puffin

The male puffin's beak becomes much larger and more colorful when mating. It sheds the outer parts of its beak (with most of the colour) when not breeding.
Puffins breed on coasts and islands, mostly in cooler northern climes, though some migrate as far south as California in winter.

Source: Author windrush

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor guitargoddess before going online.
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