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Bird Watcher's Digest Hummingbird Quiz

1. The size of a hummingbird egg is best compared to a:

  1. pea
  2. quarter
  3. pin head
  4. golf ball


2. The weight of a ruby-throated hummingbird or a black-chinned hummingbird is best compared to a:

  1. penny
  2. nickel
  3. quarter
  4. half dollar


3. Is it possible for a hummingbird to be banded?

  1. Yes
  2. No


4. What is the average wingbeat of a hummingbird?

  1. 25 beats per second
  2. 40-60 beats per second
  3. 100-125 beats per second
  4. 500 beats per second


5. The breast muscles of a hummingbird are:

  1. proportionately smaller than a pigeon's
  2. proportionately larger than a pigeon's
  3. proportionately equal to a pigeon's
  4. equal to a pigeon's


6. True or False? Hummingbirds sleep on the wing (in flight).

  1. True
  2. False


7. A hummingbird's heart beats:

  1. 10 beats per minute
  2. 50-plus beats per minute
  3. 400-plus beats per minute
  4. 5000 beats per minute


8. True or False? If you don't take your feeder down in the fall, your hummingbirds will stay at your feeders and fail to migrate south.

  1. True
  2. False


9. Hummingbirds have tongues that are:

  1. needlelike
  2. tubelike
  3. spoonlike
  4. razorlike


10. At rest, an Allen's hummingbird's metabolism is:

  1. equal to a human's
  2. 25x as fast as humans'
  3. 50x as fast as humans'
  4. 75x as fast as humans'


11. A hummingbird has approximately how many feathers?

  1. 500
  2. 1,000
  3. 1,500
  4. 2,000


12. After courtship and mating, a male hummingbird:

  1. builds a nest and helps raise the young
  2. gathers food only
  3. leaves the female hummingbird to tend to the young by herself
  4. dies from exhaustion


13. True or False? Walking is an easy task for hummingbirds.

  1. True
  2. False


14. The incubation period of a hummingbird is:

  1. one day
  2. one week
  3. two weeks
  4. one month


15. To get food to her nest, a female hummingbird

  1. safely stores food in her bill
  2. carries food on her back
  3. partially digests the food
  4. does not carry food to her nest


16. To feed her young, a female hummingbird:

  1. gently places the nectar or insects into the throat of the young
  2. thrusts her bill into the throat of the young and pumps rapidly
  3. lays the food in the bottom of the nest
  4. places the food outside of the nest to encourage the young to fly


17. What state has a hummingbird as its state bird?

  1. Texas
  2. Arizona
  3. Florida
  4. None


ANSWERS

1. A. pea

2. A. penny, or just less than 3 grams.

3. A. Yes. When banding, 0 is the smallest size band. The band must be trimmed to fit hummers.

4. B. 40-60.

5. B. proportionately larger than a pigeon (4x)

6. B. False

7. C. 400-plus beats per minute.

8. B. False.

9. B. Tubelike. This makes it easier for them to obtain nectar. The tip of the tongue is fringed, much like that of a bee or a butterfly.

10. C. 50x as fast as human's.

11. C. 1,500.

12. C. leaves the female to tend to the young by herself.

13. B. False. Walking is difficult or impossible.

14. C. two weeks.

15. C. partially digests the food.

16. B. thrusts her bill into the throat of the young and pumps rapidly.

17. D. none.