The European Birdcage Trivia Quiz

Answer: Raven (Corvus corax)

Odin was the king of all the Norwegian gods and also the god of war. He's often shown with a spear and two ravens (Corvus corax). His two black ravens, Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory), flew forth daily to gather news of events all over the world. In Germanic and Teutonic mythology he's known as Wodan.

Answer: Sheld Duck (Tadorna tadorna)

The Sheld Duck (T. tadorna) lives along coasts and feeds upon crustaceans and molluscs. The Eider (S. mollissima) spends most of his time on sea. The Tufted Duck (A. fuligula) is a small duck that's very fond of diving. It often nests in Black-headed Gull-colonies. The Shoveler (A. clypeata) has a rather unusual beak which he uses to sift out small crustaceans.

Answer: Great Bustard (Otis tarda)

The Great Bustard looks a bit like a crossbreed of a turkey and a small ostrich. The males have got a small moustache. The male's love dance is very impressive.

Answer: Magpie

The magpie is a close relative of the crow (C. corona) and the raven (C. corax). For many years, it was thought magpies were fascinated by shiny objects but research in 2014 dispelled this notion, even suggesting that magpies were afraid of unfamiliar, shiny objects.

Answer: The Nutcracker

Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes): a brown bird with white spots about the size of a pigeon.
Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus): the male is yellow, the female olive green.
Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus): lays its eggs in another bird's nest.
Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis): the European Kingfisher is a beautiful bird with a sky blue coat and an orange breast.

Answer: Owl

The Eurasian, or European, eagle-owl is one of the largest members of the owl family and has distinctive ear tufts. They cover a wide range, primarily in mainland Europe, although the UK does have a few pairs, and parts of Asia, such as Russia and central Asia.

Answer: Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus)

These birds lay about 12 to 15 very different eggs (different colours and marks) in nests of insect eating birds. They lay one egg a nest.

Answer: Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

The Arctic Skua is known to steal fish caught by gulls and other seabirds. That's why the scientific name of this bird is S. parasiticus. He parasitizes on other birds. The Puffin (F. arctica)and the Razorbill (A. torda) both belong to the family of the Alcidae.

They both look like a penguin but can fly. The Puffin (F. arctica) has got a beak like a parrot and has got intense coloring on the beak and around the eyes. In addition to oil spills and entaglements in fishing nets, Puffins are now threatened by competition for declining fish resources. Even small fish such as sand eels, a crucial part of the Puffin's diet, are being fished commercially.

Answer: Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)

The Moorhen has got green feet. You can derive the answer from the scientific name. Chloropus is ancient Greek for "green feet".

Answer: Collared Turtle-dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Before 1950 no Collared Turtle-dove (S. decaocto) was ever sighted in the Netherlands. Now there are more than 5000 breeding couples in the Netherlands alone. I see them daily here in Belgium. They are numerous.