Ten questions on birds and what flight demanded of them, each with the adaptation explained.
Almost everything unusual about birds traces back to the requirements of flight, from hollow bones to the structure of a feather. This quiz covers the record holders, the anatomy, and the behaviours that draw the most attention, including migration and vocal mimicry. It also covers the descent of birds from theropod dinosaurs, which the fossil evidence now supports firmly. The explanations connect each fact to the constraint it answers.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: A. The ostrich
Why: Ostriches can exceed two and a half metres and 100 kilograms. They cannot fly, but run at speeds over 60 km/h.
Answer: A. The peregrine falcon
Why: Peregrines exceed 300 km/h in a hunting stoop. In level flight several other birds are quicker.
Answer: D. Theropod dinosaurs
Why: Birds descend from small feathered theropods, the same broad group as Tyrannosaurus. Feathers predate flight and first served insulation and display.
Answer: D. Ornithology
Why: Ornithology is the branch of zoology dealing with birds. Herpetology covers reptiles and amphibians, and ichthyology covers fish.
Answer: D. The wandering albatross
Why: Its wingspan can exceed three metres. The shape allows it to glide for hours over the ocean with barely a wingbeat.
Answer: B. A murder
Why: Collective nouns for birds mostly date from late medieval hunting manuals. A parliament refers to owls.
Answer: A. Sustained hovering
Why: They beat their wings in a figure-of-eight, producing lift on both strokes. They are the only birds that can also fly backwards.
Answer: D. Keratin
Why: Keratin is the same protein found in hair, nails and reptile scales. Its strength-to-weight ratio is what makes flight feathers viable.
Answer: A. Seasonal availability of food and breeding conditions
Why: Birds move to track food supply and suitable breeding grounds. Many navigate using a combination of the sun, stars and Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: A. The lyrebird
Why: Australian lyrebirds reproduce other bird calls and mechanical noises with striking accuracy. Parrots and mynas are also accomplished mimics.
Feathers, Flight & Song has 10 questions and takes about 6 minutes to finish. It is rated Easy and sits in our Birds category.
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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