Q 01/05

The Canary Islands, which gave the pet canary its name, take their own Latin name from which animal?

A) Goats

B) Lizards

C) Dogs

D) Rabbits

Answer · why

C) Dogs

Dogs gave the islands their Latin name, Canaria, the island of dogs, so the songbird is named after a place named after another animal. Why the Romans...

Q 02/05

Which US president's pet parrot, Poll, is said to have been removed from his funeral for swearing?

A) Andrew Jackson

B) Zachary Taylor

C) John Tyler

D) Martin Van Buren

Answer · why

A) Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson bought the parrot for his wife Rachel in 1827 and kept it after her death. A clergyman who was at the 1845 funeral recalled it cursing ...

Q 03/05

Which fruit, safe for people, contains persin, a toxin that can kill pet parrots and canaries?

A) Mango

B) Papaya

C) Pineapple

D) Avocado

Answer · why

D) Avocado

Avocado carries persin in its flesh, skin, stone and leaves, and caged birds are especially sensitive to it: the toxin damages the heart muscle and le...

Q 04/05

Overheated pans coated with which material give off fumes that are deadly to pet birds?

A) Enamel

B) Teflon

C) Copper

D) Ceramic

Answer · why

B) Teflon

Teflon, or PTFE, breaks down at very high heat into fumes that are fatal to birds, while people who breathe them usually get only a short flu-like ill...

Q 05/05

Which composer kept a pet starling that could sing a theme from his own Piano Concerto No. 17?

A) Haydn

B) Schubert

C) Mozart

D) Beethoven

Answer · why

C) Mozart

Mozart bought the bird in 1784 and jotted its version of the tune in his expense book. When it died three years later he gave it a funeral and wrote a...