Q 01/05

After dogs and cats, which animal is the third most popular pet in the world?

A) Goldfish

B) Budgerigar

C) Rabbit

D) Hamster

Answer · why

B) Budgerigar

They overtook canaries as America's favourite bird in the 1950s and can mimic human speech.

Q 02/05

Which pet bird holds the world record for the largest vocabulary, at 1,728 words?

A) A grey parrot named Alex

B) A cockatoo named Snowball

C) A budgerigar named Puck

D) A mynah named Raffles

Answer · why

C) A budgerigar named Puck

The record first appeared in the 1995 Guinness book, a year after the bird died.

Q 03/05

Wild budgerigars are native to which country?

A) Brazil

B) South Africa

C) India

D) Australia

Answer · why

D) Australia

Their name gave Australians a slang term for tight men's swimwear: budgie smugglers.

Q 04/05

Roughly how long is a goldfish's memory span, despite the famous myth?

A) Three seconds

B) Three minutes

C) Three days

D) At least three months

Answer · why

D) At least three months

Goldfish can also learn to tell apart different shapes, colours and sounds.

Q 05/05

Goldfish were first domesticated in which country?

A) Japan

B) China

C) Thailand

D) Egypt

Answer · why

B) China

They reached Japan in 1603 and Portugal in 1611, and during the Song dynasty only royalty could own the gold variety.