Fast Facts & Trivia: Round Two

Time for some fast facts and trivia!

Pair of green-winged teal by Dave Menke – USFWS

Question 1. What is the smallest dabbling duck in North America?

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Answer: Green-winged teal

The Green-winged Teal is the smallest dabbling duck in North America. The dabbling ducks are the freshwater ducks that feed in shallow water, so they do not dive deep for food. They are all in the Anatinae family. The average weight is 0.7 lbs for males and 0.6 lbs for females with lengths 12.2 to 15.3 in.

Source: All About Birds

 

 

Sandhill crane at North Central Valley WMA by Steven R. Emmons

Question 2. Sandhill cranes winter in all the following U.S. states except:

Florida

Texas

Utah

California

Louisiana

Answer: Louisiana

Each winter they undertake long journeys to wintering grounds in Florida, Texas, Utah, Mexico, and California. En route, more than three-fourths of all sandhill cranes use migratory staging areas in a single 75-mile stretch along Nebraska’s Platte River.

Source: National Geographic

 

Question 3. Which bird has been recorded at the highest altitude?

Ruppell’s griffon vulture on kill
Ruppell’s griffon vulture on a zebra carcass in Serengeti National Park by Charlie Hamilton James – BBC

Ruppell’s griffon vulture

Arctic tern

Spotted redshank

Greylag goose

Answer: Ruppell’s griffon vulture

On 29 November 1973, a Ruppell’s Griffon collided with a commercial aircraft at 37,000 ft over Abijan, Ivory Coast, western Africa. They use their keen eyesight to scan the ground below from extreme heights and then once a meal is spotted, they swoop down to grab the prey. Other birds such as the bar-headed goose and common crane fly at high altitudes over 30,000 feet to avoid predatory birds.

Source:  World Atlas

 

Real or Fake:

Are these a real animal species or from a fictional universe?

Augurey – fiction, a phoenix-type creature, Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Aardwolf – real, a close relative of the hyena in Africa

Gharial – real, fish-eating reptile of India

Tauntaun – fiction, giant ice planet lizard, Star Wars Franchise

Groosling – fiction, wild turkey-type bird, Hunger Games Universe

Coatimundi – real, raccoon relative of SW U.S., Latin America, and from Northern Mexico to South America

 

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