Q 01/05

US Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 after hitting a flock of which birds?

A) Herring gulls

B) Tundra swans

C) Canada geese

D) Brown pelicans

Answer · why

C) Canada geese

Canada geese knocked out both engines, and DNA tests on the remains confirmed the species. All 155 people aboard survived the landing that became know...

Q 02/05

Which introduced predator kills billions of US birds each year, a 2013 study estimated?

A) Domestic cats

B) Burmese pythons

C) Feral pigs

D) Red foxes

Answer · why

A) Domestic cats

Domestic cats kill between 1.3 and 3.7 billion birds a year in the United States, the review found, and cats without owners do most of the damage.

Q 03/05

Which bird, released in New York's Central Park in 1890, has since spread across North America?

A) House sparrow

B) Eurasian collared-dove

C) European starling

D) Ring-necked pheasant

Answer · why

C) European starling

The European starling arrived when Eugene Schieffelin's acclimatisation society freed about 60 birds, and the continent's population has been put at s...

Q 04/05

Which bird, North America's tallest, was taught a migration route by following ultralight aircraft?

A) Great blue heron

B) Whooping crane

C) Trumpeter swan

D) Wood stork

Answer · why

B) Whooping crane

The whooping crane was down to 21 wild birds by 1941, so pilots later led captive-raised chicks from Wisconsin to Florida to found a second migrating ...

Q 05/05

Plume hunters nearly wiped out US egrets around 1900 to decorate which fashion item?

A) Women's hats

B) Evening gloves

C) Opera fans

D) Fur stoles

Answer · why

A) Women's hats

Women's hats carried egret plumes and sometimes whole stuffed birds. The plumes grown for courtship were the most prized, so hunters struck at nesting...