Quiz: How good a birder are you?
I didn't see this quiz anywhere on the web so I made one up. The real challenge was to make a quiz that didn't have a bias towards birders of any one country or continent.
A. 1. Can you identify all bird species frequently seen in your yard?
If ‘yes’, jump to B.
2. On a typical day, how many wild birds visit your yard?
3. How many of the following have you done to encourage birds into your yard: bird bath, putting out food, plant trees specifically for bird-food, nest box?
4. To how many of these wild birds have you given pet names?
5. In your life, and including livestock, how many pet birds have you had?
6. How many bird books do you have?
7. Do you have binoculars that you use for birdwatching?
8. List all the different types of birds you can think of in one minute, eg. vulture, hummingbird. How many did you remember?
End quiz.
B. 1. Can you identify all bird species frequently seen in your state?
If ‘yes’ jump to C.
2. Have you ever worked at a wildlife refuge, or taken part in a wildlife rescue?
3. On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate your Eyesight, Hearing, Mobility?
4. Do you keep bird lists for birds seen in your yard, state, country, life, etc.? How many lists?
5. How many bird species have you seen in your life?
6. Do you own a bird webpage?
7. How many bird societies are you a member of?
8. In your life, how many pest birds have you trapped, poisoned or shot?
End quiz.
C. 1. In a typical year, at how many different places would you listen to the dawn chorus?
2. How many “big years” have you had?
3. How many twitchathons have you participated in?
4. There are only thirteen bird species frequently seen on all six continents. Name as many as you can.
5. How many scientific papers have you written about birds?
6. How many bird tagging expeditions have you been on?
7. How many countries have you visited for birding purposes?
8. How many birding tours have you conducted?
End quiz
Scoring will be in the next post, the scores have a maximum of 4 points per question.
Scoring.
A2. Divide by 5 and round down, with a maximum of 4. eg. 18 birds gets a score of 3.
A3. Count 1 for each.
A4. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
A5. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
A6. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
A7. 0 for no, 4 for yes.
A8. Divide by 5 and round down, with a maximum of 4.
B2. 0 for no, 4 for yes.
B3. Add the three numbers, divide by 7 and round down. eg, a sum of 25 gets a score of 3.
B4. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
B5. Divide by 100 and round down, with a maximum of 4.
B6. 0 for no, 4 for yes.
B7. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
B8. Score 0 for ten or more, 2 for one to nine, 4 for none.
C1. Divide by 5 and round down, with a maximum of 4.
C2. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
C3. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
C4. The thirteen are: Barn Owl, Barn Swallow, House Sparrow, Peregrine Falcon, Black-winged Stilt, Osprey, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Sanderling, Common Tern, Rock Dove, Ruddy Turnstone, Whimbrel. Count how many, divide by 3 and round down.
C5. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
C6. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
C7. Divide by 5 and round down, with a maximum of 4.
C8. Count 1 for each, with a maximum of 4.
Results, Mark youself a beginning birder if you answered the ‘A’ questions, an intermediate birder if you answered the ‘B’ questions, and an advanced birder if you answered the ‘C questions. Then add up the total score (maximum of 4 for each question).
For A, 15 or more is a good score.
For B, 15 or more is a good score.
For C, congratulations on getting this far! 10 or more is an excellent score.