Bird Behavior
A reproductive strategy in which one species lays eggs in the nests of another species, forcing the host to incubate and raise the parasite's young as their own
What is interspecific brood parasitism?
This raptor species' call is used to replace the sound of the Bald Eagle throughout media.
A type of feather that is only found on the wings and the tail.
What is a flight feather?
This controversial artist illustrated "The Birds of North America". A famous conservation organization bears his name.
Who is John James Audubon?
The archetypal extinct bird, this aberrant pigeon was endemic to the island of Mauritius, where it was so unafraid of hunters that its name has become synonymous with stupidity.
What is the Dodo?
This species, related to catbirds and thrashers, is famous for its extensive mimicry of other birds as well as human objects.
What is the Northern Mockingbird?
This arctic species, related to pheasants, went viral online for its strange-sounding "awebo" call.
What is the Willow Ptarmigan?
This body part stores air and takes up 20% of a bird's internal body space; unique to birds.
What are air sacs?
Termed "the father of American ornithology", this scientist has a plover, warbler, and storm-petrel named after him.
Who is Alexander Wilson?
At the peak of this species' abundance, it numbered in the billions, and would form flocks that blotted out the sky for hours, before being driven to extinction by overhunting and habitat destruction.
What is the Passenger Pigeon?
This Rocky Mountain specialty is the only North American songbird to regularly dive underwater for food.
What is the American Dipper?
The term for a regionally distinctive birdsong.
What is a dialect?
A foot structure that is commonly found in coots, grebes, finfoots, and some species of ducks.
What are lobed feet?
A lifelong birder, this ornithologist began his career studying manakin displays in South America, before revolutionizing the way we think about beauty and desire in birds.
Who is Richard Prum?
Called "The Lord God Bird", this species was dramatically announced to have been rediscovered in Arkansas in 2005, but no concrete evidence has surfaced to back up that claim.
What is the Ivory-billed Woodpecker?
This behavior is associated with starlings and can be characterized as when thousands of birds combine in the sky to form a synchronized unit, creating a magnificent aerial dance.
What is a murmuration?
What is the (Eastern) Warbling Vireo?
A feature that allows feathers to appear black or dull one moment, then flash into glittering color as light hits them at just the right angle.
What is iridescence?
The popular book "Kingbird Highway" details this birder's misadventures as a high school dropout hitchhiking across the country to see birds.
This massive, ostrich-like bird was only found on the island of Madagascar, where it laid the largest eggs to ever exist (one of which is held in the Peabody Museum) before going extinct sometime in the 17th century.
What is the Elephant Bird?
A breeding system where (generally) male courtship display is concentrated at one location, facilitating female choice.
What is lekking?
This bird's song is often described as saying "Quick, three beers!"
What is the Olive-sided Flycatcher?
The chemical compound that egg shells are mostly made out of. It provides the structure and rigidity needed to maintain the shell.
What is calcium carbonate?
This scientist, hailed as "the finest field birder the world had ever seen", discovered multiple new species of birds in South America and broke the United States Big Year record as a teen, before tragically dying in a plane crash in Ecuador.
Who is Theodore A. Parker III?
This strange black-masked finch, endemic to the island of Maui and specialized to feed on snails, was discovered in 1974 and went extinct just 30 years later.
What is the Poo-uli?