Q 01/05

Which Australian bird marks its territory at dawn and dusk with a call like loud human laughter?

A) Cockatoo

B) Kookaburra

C) Magpie-lark

D) Currawong

Answer · why

B) Kookaburra

Kookaburra laughter has been edited into Hollywood jungle scenes since the Tarzan films of the 1930s, although the bird is native to eastern Australia...

Q 02/05

Which African carnivore has a giggling laugh whose pitch reveals the age of the animal making it?

A) Spotted hyena

B) African wild dog

C) Black-backed jackal

D) Honey badger

Answer · why

A) Spotted hyena

Spotted hyena whoops are just as informative: each animal's whoop carries its own signature, so clan members may tell one another apart by sound alone...

Q 03/05

Which large cat does not roar and instead chirps like a bird to find lost cubs or greet a companion?

A) Leopard

B) Jaguar

C) Tiger

D) Cheetah

Answer · why

D) Cheetah

Cheetah chirps can be heard a mile away, and they vary so much between individuals that the cats may recognise each other by them.

Q 04/05

Which marine mammal's males sing complex songs that a best-selling 1970 album made famous?

A) Southern right whale

B) Gray whale

C) Humpback whale

D) Minke whale

Answer · why

C) Humpback whale

Humpback whale males in the same area sing much the same song, and when one alters it the others copy the change.

Q 05/05

Which familiar sound do adult domestic cats rarely make to each other, saving it mostly for people?

A) Trill

B) Growl

C) Meow

D) Yowl

Answer · why

C) Meow

Meow calls aimed at humans are probably a kitten's mew carried into adult life, a habit that developed after domestication.