Vocabulary
What does "naturalist" mean?
Answer: A person who studies plants and animals in their natural environment.
How would you describe John James Audubon's passion?
Answer: He was very passionate about birds and nature.
What major event led John James to America?
Answer: His father sent him to avoid fighting in Napoleon's war.
What did John James do first when he found the pee-wee flycatchers?
Answer: He ran home to tell Mrs. Tomah about the birds.
Who was John James Audubon's father?
Answer: Papa Audubon, who taught him about birds.
Define "migrate."
Answer: To move from one place to another, especially seasonally.
What trait does John James show by wanting to study birds instead of doing farm work?
Answer: He shows curiosity and determination.
What was the question John James wanted to investigate?
Answer: Where do small birds go in the winter and do they return to the same nests?
After banding the baby birds, what season followed?
Answer: Winter.
What did John James use to band the birds?
Answer: A piece of fine silver thread.
What is "ornithology"?
Answer: The scientific study of birds.
How did Mrs. Tomah feel about John James's obsession with birds?
Answer: She was fond of him but felt he should focus more on work.
What did the baby bird do that John James tried to band?
Answer: The bird pecked the string off.
What did John James do in the cave each day?
Answer: He studied and drew the birds.
What did John James hope to create for his next birthday?
Answer: Drawings worth keeping from the fire.
What does "homing" refer to in bird behavior?
Answer: The ability of birds to return to the same nest each year.
What does John James's decision to band birds show about his character?
Answer: It shows his innovative thinking and desire to learn.
How did John James confirm that some birds return to the same nests?
Answer: He found birds with silver threads on their legs from the previous year.
What happened when spring arrived?
Answer: The birds returned to the cave.
What were the main birds John James studied in the cave?
Answer: Pee-wee flycatchers.
What is a "nestling"?
Answer: A young bird that has not yet fledged (left the nest).
How did John James feel about being away from his father?
Answer: He felt lonely and missed his father deeply.
What book did John James write that shared his findings?
Answer: "Ornithological Biography."
What did John James do with his sketches on his birthday?
Answer: He burned them in the fireplace.
What impact did Audubon's work have on future scientists?
Answer: It helped prove that small birds migrate and return to the same nests.