Explore a Free Quiz From the Cornell Lab’s Ornithology Course

Question 1 of 15

Chapter 1. Why Study Birds?

Which of the following statements about birds and the study of birds are correct?

(Choose all correct answers)

Birds can be found nearly everywhere across the globe.
Birds create living links among the earth’s continents, oceans, and hemispheres.
Studies of birds have contributed many key insights into how evolutionary forces shape populations and species.
Birds have served as flagships for the conservation of imperiled habitats.

Question 2 of 15

Chapter 2. Avian Diversity and Classification

flying hummingbird, green on head and body, purple throat, white collar, long thin, narrow, black bill

Purple-throated Woodstar, Ecuador

A beautifully preserved hummingbird fossil was recently discovered in France. What are some lessons we can learn from this finding?

(Choose all correct answers)

Current distributions of species are not a direct reflection of past distributions.
Current distributions of species usually are a direct reflection of past distributions.
Hummingbirds are currently restricted to the Americas, but were found elsewhere 30 million years ago.
Hummingbirds in France are currently much larger than the fossil discovered.

Question 3 of 15

Chapter 3. How Birds Evolve

White-breasted nuthatch facing down next to a small speaker. Nuthatch has black cap, white breast and underside and slaty back and wings. Very pointed black bill.

White-breasted Nuthatch by a speaker

Researchers sometimes use song playback experiments to discover whether birds recognize each other as members of the same species. If birds of different populations or species do not recognize each other, it would be an example of _______.

(Choose the one best answer)

behavioral isolation
geographic isolation
habitat isolation
mechanical isolation

Question 4 of 15

Chapter 4. Feathers and Plumages

Anhinga perched on bush with wings spread mostly dark bird, separate image of Neotropic Cormorant an all dark bird by water spreading wings

Anhinga on left, Neotropic Cormorant on right

If a cormorant and an Anhinga of equal dry weight dived into the water and then climbed back out again, which one of them (while still wet) would weigh more (assuming they ate the same weight of fish while in the water)?

(Choose the one best answer)

The cormorant
The Anhinga
They would both weigh the same.
There is no way to know.

Question 5 of 15

Chapter 5. Avian Flight

composite image of an American Kestrel in two different flight postures

American Kestrel, composite photo

In which posture does this American Kestrel generate the most lift?

A
B

Question 6 of 15

Chapter 6. Avian Anatomy

When the pectoralis muscle pulls the wing down in flight, the supracoracoideus muscle contracts.

True
False

Question 7 of 15

Chapter 7. Bird Physiology

Hoatzins, Venezuela

Which of the following statements help explain why so few birds eat primarily leaves?

(Choose all correct answers)

Birds cannot handle the toxins plants use to dissuade herbivores.
Birds don’t have teeth, so it would be hard for them to gather enough leaves to satisfy their nutritional needs.
Leaves are low in energy content, and birds have high metabolic needs.
Leaves are low in energy content and take a long time to digest, making them a bad food for birds that need to minimize weight for flight.

Question 8 of 15

Chapter 8. Avian Food and Foraging

This image is an example of _______.

(Choose the one best answer)

ecological release
learned feeding specializations
prey capture efficiency in groups
resource partitioning and bill variation
sexual dimorphism in bill morphology

Question 9 of 15

Chapter 9. Avian Mating and Social Behavior

painting of long-tailed manakins from wall of birds

Long-tailed Manakins displaying

A male Long-tailed Manakin may spend two or more years cooperating with another male to perform an energetic courtship display that involves singing, leapfrogging, and many short flights—even though his “partner” secures over 95% of the matings with visiting females. Why does this male continue to display for such a low genetic pay-off?

(Choose the one best answer)

He is gaining practice displaying, so that when he sets out to display by himself, he will be better able to attract females.
He is related to his display partner and thus his genes are being promoted every time his partner mates with a female.
He probably will become the top male, mating with many females, when his partner dies, and will “inherit” the females that traditionally visit the display site.
Sites with appropriate clearings and branch orientation are limited in their dense humid forest habitat.
No one knows, and the behavior is thought to be maladaptive.

Question 10 of 15

Chapter 10. Avian Vocal Behavior

red song bird, Scarlet Tanager singing perched on a tree branch

Scarlet Tanager, male

During the dawn chorus, birds usually _____ than during typical daytime singing.

(Choose all correct answers)

sing different song types
sing from different types of perches
sing less often
sing with greater variety

Question 11 of 15

Chapter 11. Breeding Biology of Birds

bird, Malleefowl standing by a ground nest

Malleefowl at Nest

Arrange the following bird groups in order of increasing parental care given to the eggs or young by their biological parents. Put the one with the least amount of parental care on top, and the one providing the most on the bottom.

(Drag boxes to reorder)

Brood parasites
Altricial young
Megapodes
Precocial young

View Answers:

Question 12 of 15

Chapter 12. Avian Migration and Dispersal

Eurasian Blackcap; Bursa, Turkey

When researchers bred Eurasian Blackcaps from across of their European migratory divide, their hybrid offspring followed a migratory path that _______.

(Choose the one best answer)

was the same route as the male parent
was the same route as the female parent
was an intermediate route
went off in a new direction

Question 13 of 15

Chapter 13. Ecology of Bird Populations

Townsend’s Warbler, fledgling

The likelihood of young birds surviving through their first year is lower than adult survivorship in most birds because of food limitation.

True
False

Question 14 of 15

Chapter 14. Bird Communities

striped perched bird with black feather crest

Barred Antshrike, Trinidad

Barred Antshrikes are restricted to second-growth scrub on Trinidad where they are part of a large insectivore guild, but on Tobago, where there are few other insectivores, they occupy a much broader array of habitats. This is an example of _______.

(Choose the one best answer)

brood parasitism
ecological release
kleptoparasitism
trophic cascade

Question 15 of 15

Chapter 15. Bird Conservation

Match each of the declining bird species listed below with a serious threat it faces today over some or all of its range.

(Drag the boxes to the correct match)

Sort elements

Imperial Parrot
Bicknell’s Thrush
Kakapo

Direct exploitation of young birds for pet trade
Reductions in calcium-rich foods because of acid rain
Predation by feral cats and other introduced mammals

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