Hi folks,
I've run out of letters for a true Alphabetic Quiz so this is a variation; it's still a 4B grade test. If you are new to my Quizzes please read the rules at the end BEFORE you leap into action. If you ARE new, then welcome.
This time the initial letters of the answers can be unscrambled to give the names of 3 related species of common British birds, 2 residents and one Winter visitor. The numbers of letters in each are 9, 4-6, and 7 (how much easier could this be?)
So solve the clues and also the names of the 3 birds. To assist you even more, the answers to the clues are in Alphabetical order (I dunno, I'll be telling you the answers next).
Pencils sharpened, fingers poised, brains in gear? Then off we go.
1. Denotes all the bird species of a region or period
2. Small Island in the Firth of Forth, a major Gannetry
3. 12th son of an Italian family, as a teenager he hunted wild birds and animals; his journals kept at the time list 146 different ways of catching birds! In his late 20s he became Professor of Zoology at Turin University and by the time that he died in middle age he was widely regarded as one of the most highly respected Naturalists of his time. He has a raptor and a Warbler named for him.
4. WWT reserve in Dunfries, notable for Wintering Wildfowl. Upwards of 20K birds winter here.
5. The movement of birds away from their 'home' or 'birth' range, usually at the end of the post-breeding moult.
6. Small Wader, easily identified in Summer Plumage by a black belly-patch; less easy in winter.
7. Horny growth on the top of the upper mandible of a hatching chick, used to help to cut it's way out of the egg.
8. This charming garden bird is also known as '7-coloured Linnet'
9. The last British List bird to become globally extinct (before there was a British List)
10. The long slender feathers on the neck of a bird, especially Gamebirds.
11. Small rough-water Duck, a very rare visitor to the UK from their Iceland breeding-grounds.
12. The process of applying heat to eggs after laying to encourage them to hatch.
13. The most spectacular of these is the 'Scarlet', the only one on the British List is the 'Glossy'.
14. These New Zealand natives lay the largest eggs as a proportion of bodyweight.
15. Very similar in size and shape to Peregrines, but browner plumage, the appearance of one of these in the UK would be a "Megatwitch'.
16. Active at night (i.e. most Owls).
17. A Corvid similar in size to the Jackdaw but with distinctive white-spotted brown body plumage and a white and black undertail. Almost annual in very small numbers in Autumn, to Eastern Counties. One large irruption in the 1960s when birds appeared in most English Counties.
18. A flying machine that imitates the flapping action of a birds' wing.
19. American species of Cuckoo that inhabits dry open stony areas. Remains mostly on the ground.
20. Just off the N coast of Antrim, this Island is one of the principal cliff-nesting bird reserves in the UK. Best see from a boat.
21. General alternative name for the Woodpigeon, referring to the white neck-feathers of adult birds.
22. Strong contender (along with the Marabou) for the title of 'World's ugliest bird'. Central African.
23. Small plump shorebird, in Winter pale grey, almost white plumage. Very active, feeds by running up and down the shore following the tide-line.
24. Alternative (Scottish) name for the Black Guillemot
25. Front bone in the middle section of a birds' wing, corresponds to one of the bones in a human forearm.
26. Scottish-born weaver and poet who was imprisoned for writing satires against the mill-owners. On release he emigrated to America and was so taken by the birdlife that he became a leading Ornithologist and spent most of his life exploring and working on his 'American Ornithology'. Has a Storm-Petrel, a Phalarope, and a Warbler named for him.
Rules.
1. Take your time, no answers please until I open the 'Answers here' thread in 48 hours time, late Tuesday. This is NOT a speed Quiz, all those achieving max points will be awarded the 4B (and the lowest score will win the Wooden Spoon). PLEASE don't spoil other people's pleasure.
2. For Q3 & Q26 you need the FULL name and dates, anything less will lose you 1/2 point.
3. Anything less than a positive answer ('or', ?, 'perhaps' etc etc) will lose you 1/2 point. Grit your teeth and gamble.
I think that this one is not as difficult as some, come on prove me right.
I would like to know (on this thread) if you are having a go.
Bill.
I've run out of letters for a true Alphabetic Quiz so this is a variation; it's still a 4B grade test. If you are new to my Quizzes please read the rules at the end BEFORE you leap into action. If you ARE new, then welcome.
This time the initial letters of the answers can be unscrambled to give the names of 3 related species of common British birds, 2 residents and one Winter visitor. The numbers of letters in each are 9, 4-6, and 7 (how much easier could this be?)
So solve the clues and also the names of the 3 birds. To assist you even more, the answers to the clues are in Alphabetical order (I dunno, I'll be telling you the answers next).
Pencils sharpened, fingers poised, brains in gear? Then off we go.
1. Denotes all the bird species of a region or period
2. Small Island in the Firth of Forth, a major Gannetry
3. 12th son of an Italian family, as a teenager he hunted wild birds and animals; his journals kept at the time list 146 different ways of catching birds! In his late 20s he became Professor of Zoology at Turin University and by the time that he died in middle age he was widely regarded as one of the most highly respected Naturalists of his time. He has a raptor and a Warbler named for him.
4. WWT reserve in Dunfries, notable for Wintering Wildfowl. Upwards of 20K birds winter here.
5. The movement of birds away from their 'home' or 'birth' range, usually at the end of the post-breeding moult.
6. Small Wader, easily identified in Summer Plumage by a black belly-patch; less easy in winter.
7. Horny growth on the top of the upper mandible of a hatching chick, used to help to cut it's way out of the egg.
8. This charming garden bird is also known as '7-coloured Linnet'
9. The last British List bird to become globally extinct (before there was a British List)
10. The long slender feathers on the neck of a bird, especially Gamebirds.
11. Small rough-water Duck, a very rare visitor to the UK from their Iceland breeding-grounds.
12. The process of applying heat to eggs after laying to encourage them to hatch.
13. The most spectacular of these is the 'Scarlet', the only one on the British List is the 'Glossy'.
14. These New Zealand natives lay the largest eggs as a proportion of bodyweight.
15. Very similar in size and shape to Peregrines, but browner plumage, the appearance of one of these in the UK would be a "Megatwitch'.
16. Active at night (i.e. most Owls).
17. A Corvid similar in size to the Jackdaw but with distinctive white-spotted brown body plumage and a white and black undertail. Almost annual in very small numbers in Autumn, to Eastern Counties. One large irruption in the 1960s when birds appeared in most English Counties.
18. A flying machine that imitates the flapping action of a birds' wing.
19. American species of Cuckoo that inhabits dry open stony areas. Remains mostly on the ground.
20. Just off the N coast of Antrim, this Island is one of the principal cliff-nesting bird reserves in the UK. Best see from a boat.
21. General alternative name for the Woodpigeon, referring to the white neck-feathers of adult birds.
22. Strong contender (along with the Marabou) for the title of 'World's ugliest bird'. Central African.
23. Small plump shorebird, in Winter pale grey, almost white plumage. Very active, feeds by running up and down the shore following the tide-line.
24. Alternative (Scottish) name for the Black Guillemot
25. Front bone in the middle section of a birds' wing, corresponds to one of the bones in a human forearm.
26. Scottish-born weaver and poet who was imprisoned for writing satires against the mill-owners. On release he emigrated to America and was so taken by the birdlife that he became a leading Ornithologist and spent most of his life exploring and working on his 'American Ornithology'. Has a Storm-Petrel, a Phalarope, and a Warbler named for him.
Rules.
1. Take your time, no answers please until I open the 'Answers here' thread in 48 hours time, late Tuesday. This is NOT a speed Quiz, all those achieving max points will be awarded the 4B (and the lowest score will win the Wooden Spoon). PLEASE don't spoil other people's pleasure.
2. For Q3 & Q26 you need the FULL name and dates, anything less will lose you 1/2 point.
3. Anything less than a positive answer ('or', ?, 'perhaps' etc etc) will lose you 1/2 point. Grit your teeth and gamble.
I think that this one is not as difficult as some, come on prove me right.
I would like to know (on this thread) if you are having a go.
Bill.
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