Q 01/05

Whooping crane chicks raised in Wisconsin were taught to migrate to Florida by following what?

A) Small helicopters

B) Ultralight aircraft

C) Trained Canada geese

D) Remote-controlled drones

Answer · why

B) Ultralight aircraft

Ultralight aircraft flown by Operation Migration led 186 young birds south between 2001 and 2015, and the cranes then flew back north by themselves ea...

Q 02/05

Which North American record does the whooping crane, a white wader of the Texas coast, hold?

A) Tallest bird

B) Heaviest bird

C) Longest-lived bird

D) Fastest-flying bird

Answer · why

A) Tallest bird

The whooping crane is the tallest bird on the continent at about five feet, yet this lean wader weighs only around 15 pounds.

Q 03/05

How did George Archibald spend three years coaxing Tex, a captive whooping crane, to breed?

A) Singing to her

B) Feeding her treats

C) Dancing with her

D) Flying beside her

Answer · why

C) Dancing with her

Dancing with her as a male crane would, Archibald walked and leapt beside Tex until artificial insemination finally gave her a single chick.

Q 04/05

Costumed keepers feed whooping crane chicks using what, so the young birds never bond with people?

A) A long spoon

B) A feeding tube

C) A robotic arm

D) A hand puppet

Answer · why

D) A hand puppet

A hand puppet shaped like an adult's head and neck delivers the food and teaches the chicks to forage, so they grow up wary of humans.

Q 05/05

Which shellfish do wintering whooping cranes rely on most in the salt marshes of the Texas coast?

A) Blue crabs

B) Bay scallops

C) White shrimp

D) Eastern oysters

Answer · why

A) Blue crabs

Blue crabs made up as much as 90 percent of the birds' energy intake in two winters studied in the 1990s; clams and wild berries fill the gaps.