Q 01/05

Film sound editors often dub the red-tailed hawk's fierce scream over footage of which far more famous bird?

A) Whooping crane

B) Bald eagle

C) Turkey vulture

D) Great blue heron

Answer · why

B) Bald eagle

Bald eagle calls are weak, gull-like chirps, so film and television swap in the hawk's louder, more powerful cry.

Q 02/05

Americans have long nicknamed the red-tailed hawk after which farmyard bird, though it rarely preys on the adults?

A) Goose

B) Pheasant

C) Chicken

D) Turkey

Answer · why

C) Chicken

Chicken hawk is a label shared with Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks, and it once got all three shot as pests. Red-tails mostly hunt mammals.

Q 03/05

The red-tailed hawk Pale Male became a celebrity by nesting on an apartment building beside which New York landmark?

A) Central Park

B) Prospect Park

C) Bryant Park

D) Battery Park

Answer · why

A) Central Park

Central Park birdwatchers set up telescopes each spring to watch his chicks. He was among the first red-tails known to nest on a building instead of a...

Q 04/05

Which group of small mammals can make up as much as 85 percent of a red-tailed hawk's diet?

A) Bats

B) Shrews

C) Rabbits

D) Rodents

Answer · why

D) Rodents

Rodents such as mice, voles, gophers and chipmunks are the hawk's staple, which makes it free pest control for farmers.

Q 05/05

Which night hunter, unable to build a nest of its own, often takes over old red-tailed hawk nests?

A) Long-eared owl

B) Great horned owl

C) Northern hawk owl

D) Barred owl

Answer · why

B) Great horned owl

Great horned owl pairs start nesting as early as December, so they claim a nest before the hawks are ready. The hawks simply build a new one nearby.