Animals

101 Bird Trivia Questions To Test Your Birder Knowledge

Did you know the chicken is the closest living relative to the T-rex? Do you know what the smallest bird egg in history is and how big it is? Can you name a bird by looking at the color of its feathers? 

The birder world is fascinating, with more than 11,000 bird species identified all over the world.

Test your knowledge with these bird trivia questions and answers. Find out if you’re a professional-level Ornithologist or if you have more bird watching to do to brush up on your feathered knowledge. 

Try our bird quiz to find out how much you really know about the planet’s birds. Compare your answers to our bird trivia questions with your other bird-watching friends and find out who deserves the title of the ultimate Ornithologist!

Looking for more trivia? Check out our flowers & tree quiz or our animal trivia quiz. Or you can test out your general plant knowledge with our plant trivia questions and answers.

What Peruvian word is given to seabird droppings used as fertilizer?

Swan

Albatross

Ostrich

Guano

Back in 1681, where was the last known sighting of the dodo?

Maldives

Mauritius

Majorca

Madagascar

What is the more common name for the ‘apteryx’?

Pengiun

Emu

Kiwi

Ostrich

Budgies of all sorts of colors have been developed by breeders – but what color are they in the wild?

Orange

Red

Blue

Green

What is a male goose called?

Ostrich

Gander

Gosling

Cuckoo

What color is a purple finch?

Crimson

Brown

Purple

Blue

Which of these birds’ beaks has a pouch adapted to catch fish?

Heron

Duck

Pelican

Kingfisher

In which part of the UK can you see golden eagles and ptarmigan in the wild?

Scotland

London

Cornwall

East Anglia

Which of these habitats would best suit a sparrow?

Beach

Hedgerow

Mountain top

Pond

Which bird takes its name from the Portuguese word meaning ‘ostrich’?

Stork

Puffin

Kiwi

Emu

The dunnock is another name for which common bird?

Sparrow

Chaffinch

Crow

Swallow

What is a young duck called?

Owling

Chick

Duckling

Gosling

Pandion haliaetus is the scientific name of which bird?

Harpy Eagle

Swainson’s Hawk

Osprey

Ferruginous Hawk / Buzzard

Why is the hoopoe bird so-called?

Spots on plumage

Its ‘hoo hoo’ call

Beak is hoop-shaped

Plays hoop-la

Cockatoos are parrots from which continent?

Amercia

Australia

Europe

Asia

Which of these birds beats its prey to death either by whipping it against a tree or dropping it on a stone?

Heron

Kestrel

Kingfisher

Nightingale

Which bird, was once a native to the island of Mauritius?

Dodo

The albatross

Golden Eagle

Robin

How fast can a hummingbird beat its wings?

90 times a second

10 times a second

50 times a second

1 times a second

The quail and the partridge are members of which bird family?

Pheasant

Pigeon

Crow

Duck

A three-year-old Common Swift spends roughly how much of its time in the air?

1

4

2

7

What was the name of the eagle that famously escaped from London Zoo in 1965?

Queenie

Jones

Goldie

James Bond

Which birds are born in pairs with the elder sometimes killing its younger nest mate?

Wandering albatrosses

Great bustards

Masked boobies

Flightless cormorants

What color is a Blue Tit’s breast?

Yellow

Blue

Red

Orange

What is a young owl called?

Owling

Owl cub

Owly

Owlet

What is the largest web-footed bird?

Albatross

Flamingo

Wren

Mallard

Which bird completes the phrase ‘As happy as a ‘?

Sparrow

Lark

Heron

Goose

Which bird record does the red-billed quelea hold?

Longest migration

Most eggs in a clutch

Most abundant

Heaviest flying bird

Where would you most likely find a Coot?

In a trees roots

In the sea

In a chimney

On a pond

What color is the stripe down the breast of the Great Tit?

Yellow

Black

White

Blue

Where can you find the Emu?

Australia

Russia

Austria

Germany

The minivet belongs to which family of birds?

Grebe

Cuckoo-shrike

American warbler

Bowerbird

When do flamingoes become pink?

Three years after birth

Five years after birth

Two years after birth

Four years after birth

Ducks have two ways to feed. What are they?

Bin dipping and fishing

Fishing and Recycling

Stealing and Rummaging

Surface feeding and diving

Which bird was a symbol of the city of Ancient Athens?

Falcon

Sparrow

Stork

Owl

What is a gathering of turkeys known as?

Gaggle

Drift

Rafter

Tiding

The windhover is another name for which bird?

Heron

Kite

Hummingbird

Kestrel

Which bird completes the phrase ‘As wise as an’?

Avocet

Owl

Ostrich

Eagle

Which bird has the largest wing span?

Eagle

Owl

The albatross

Stork

Which of these birds does NOT eat fish?

Pelican

Blue Grosbeak

Budgie

Golden Eagle

Which of these is true of humans, but not of birds?

Have two eyes

Don’t lay eggs

Eat nuts and berries

Walk on two legs

What is a whippoorwill?

An Egg

A bird

A Nest

A Flight Path

Which bird is also a ‘grumble’?

Duck

Partridge

Grouse

Wren

Which popular bird was named after what was wrongly thought to be its country of origin?

Turkey

Chicken

Jaybird

Duck

A rafter is a group of which sort of birds?

Ducks

Pheasants

Quails

Turkeys

Which of these birds has a patch of blue feathers on its wings?

Starling

Jay

Robin

Sparrow

Which bird is known as a stankie in the Scottish Borders?

Moorhen

Magpie

Pigeon

Kingfisher

Which bird, associated with Christmas, is the official state bird of Michigan and Wisconsin?

Robin

Stork

Owl

Eagle

Where does a Kingfisher lay her eggs?

In a chimney

In a tree trunk

In a beach

In a tunnel in a riverbank

What is the national bird of France?

Peacock

Rooster

Kiwi

Bald Eagle

Which of these birds cannot fly?

Kingfisher

Eagle

Wren

Ostrich

Waved and Black-browed are types of which bird?

Rail

Albatross

Tern

Puffin

Ring-necked’ and ‘turtle’ are two varieties of which bird?

Dove

Swift

Sparrow

Duck

The dodo was the world’s largest example of which sort of bird?

Puffin

Pigeon

Parrot

Pheasant

Which bird was hunted to extinction in the UK by the mid 19th century, but has been reintroduced to Salisbury Plain in the last few years?

Jaybird

Peacock

Great Bustard

Coot

Which of these was NOT one of the reasons the dodo became extinct?

Unafraid

Prone to overeating

Flightless

Edible

Buteo regalis is the scientific name of which bird?

Western Screech-owl

Ferruginous Hawk / Buzzard

Black Vulture

Barn owl

How many toes on each foot does an ostrich stand on?

One

Eight

Seven

Two

What physical characteristic indicates the gender of a budgie?

The colour around the nostrils

The colour around the wings

The colour around the feet

The colour around the eyes

How long do budgies usually live?

12-15 years

22-25 years

2-5 years

15-25 years

Kookaburra are native to which of these countries?

Spain

Australia

Austria

Greenland

Which birds are known as a ‘murder’ when gathered together?

Eagles

Crows

Ravens

Magpies

Which bird has the biggest eyes?

Peacock

Barn owl

The ostrich

Shrike

The bald eagle is America’s national bird. What is Britain’s?

Skylark

Magpie

Sparrow

Robin

What is a female Peacock known as?

Cuckoo

A peahen

Quail

Gosling

What is a young hen called?

Ruddy Duck

Chick

Peacock

Stork

Which of these British birds is nocturnal?

Magpie

Owl

Bluetit

Duck

Which bird completes the phrase ‘As proud as a ‘?

Peacock

Pigeon

Pelican

Puffin

Which is the official state bird of Texas and Tennessee?

Mockingbird

Puffin

Raven

Duck

What type of bird is a Kookaburra?

Duck

Penguin

Heron

Kingfisher

How long does it take to hard-boil an Ostrich egg?

About 60 minutes

About 40 minutes

About 7 minutes

About 5 minutes

Which exotic bird stands on one leg?

Parrot

Crane

Stork

Flamingo

What is the smallest penguin species?

Owl

Fairy

Lark

Cuckoo

What word is given to birds reared for human consumption?

Parrots

Eagles

Seagull

Poultry

In what country do you find the Kiwi?

Australia

New Zealand

Spain

France

Which of these birds became extinct most recently?

The Bittern

Thrushes

Robin

Passenger pigeon

What is a baby Peacock called?

A Youngchick

A peachick

A dochick

A nochick

What is a young swan called?

Cygnet

Cob

Cub

Calf

Which of these birds is NOT native to the UK?

Kittiwake

Kingfisher

Kestrel

Kookaburra

The Goliath Bird Eater is the world’s largest species of which creature?

Silk Worm

Snake

Spider

Scorpion

In the summer the male has chestnut-colored plumage and its bill is blue. What type of duck is it?

Ruddy Duck

White Duck

Black Duck

Brown Duck

Which of these words is an anagram of a bird’s name?

Slime

Stein

Spine

Spike

A bird in the hand is worth how many in the bush?

9

2

7

1

Where would you find the mesite bird?

Faroe Isles

Greater Antilles

New Zealand

Madagascar

What color is the neck of a peacock?

Green

Brown

Blue

White

Confusingly, what is the predominant color of the female Black Redstart?

Brown

Grey

White

Yellow

Where do Long-eared Owls live?

In nests stolen from other birds

On the beach

In the nest they were born

On the river bed

Which of these birds is unable to fly?

Capercaillie

Secretary bird

Pheasant

Cassowary

The black petrel, now an endangered species, is native to which country?

Canada

New Zealand

Japan

Brazil

Which bird is the international symbol of happiness?

Bluebird

Robin

Dove

Owl

Which bird’s name derives from the Aboriginal for ‘Good cockatoo’?

Budgerigar

Duck

Heron

Sparrow

Where might you find a Dipper’s nest?

In a tree trunk

Behind a waterfall

Above a rainforrest

A woodland

What is another name for a gnu?

Wildebeest

Viciousbeest

Angrebeest

Madebeest

Which of these birds can fly?

Kiwi

Rhea

Kookaburra

Emu

Which of these birds is spelt incorrectly?

Eagle

Sparrer

Hawk

Pigeon

What bird feathers do superstitious folks never keep in the house as a decoration?

Stork

Owl

Peacock

Eagle

What distinctive feature decorates a Herring Gull’s beak?

A black spot

An orange spot

A green spot

A pink spot

The red-billed quelea is the world’s most abundant bird. On which continent is it found?

Asia

Africa

Europe

South America

What are the two predominant colors of a wild budgerigar?

Pink and Grey

Orange and Red

Black and White

Green and Yellow

What is the state bird of Alabama, USA?

Golden Eagle

Yellowhammer

Swan

Goose

Lundy Island is particularly known for being home to which birds?

Snowy owls

Puffins

Golden eagles

Penguins

The collective noun ‘paddling’ refers to a gaggle of which bird?

Geese

Penguins

Flamingos

Ducks

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