ROBIN QUIZ ANSWERS

1.  Where does a robin like to nest?

1. A nesting box

2. A cup-shaped nest made of thick mud and twigs

3. A flat nest made of grasses on the ground

Answer: A The female makes a nest of thick mud reinforced with grass, leaves, twigs, paper or twine. The inside is lined with grass. Males sometimes help gather nesting materials but the female chooses the site and builds the nest. Nests are built less than 35 feet off the ground. Sometimes a robin will recycle a nest from a previous year.

2.  How do robins stay warm in winter?

1. They eat lots of berries in the afternoon to get through the dark night

2. They huddle in flocks

3. They hide in their mud nests

Answer:  A A robin has an extra-stretchy esophagus so they can pack in the berries in the later afternoon. This allows them to survive without being able to eat in the dark. Their intestines can digest waxy berry coatings.

3.  One of the robin's more unusual behaviors is to roost, or to flock together with large numbers of other birds. What is the largest number of birds that have been seen in a roost of robins?

1. 200

2. 2000

3. 250,000

Answer:  C  Roosts can get as big as 250,000 birds, but normally they are 20 to 200 birds. Males roost year round. Females and young join them during winter. Sometimes they roost with other species, like European starlings and common grackles. It protects against predators and helps in the hunt for food.

4.  How did the American robin get its name?

1. It was named after Christopher Robin in the Winnie-the-Pooh series for its practical and playful manner.

2. It was named by European settlers after a similar European bird.

3. It was named for a type of berry that is an important part of the robin's diet.

Answer:  B Robins were named by European settlers for the robin red-breast, a European bird which has a similar color, though the two species are not closely related

5.  Robin chicks are altricial. What does this mean?

1. Their skin is transparent.

2. They can only eat food that their parents are have already digested.

3. They depend on their parents for their complete care.

Answer:  C  Robin chicks are dependent on their parents for their complete care. The mother incubates the eggs and the father helps to provides food. Young robins leave the nest when they are about 13 days old.

6.  Where do males spend their time during the summer breeding season?

1. in roosts or large groups of other males

2. on branches outside their mate’s nest

3. looking for many new mates

Answer:  A  Males and young robins congregate in roosts. Females join the roosts only when they are done nesting.

7.  Robins can sometimes eat crops. What crops?

1. vegetables

2. fruit

3. grains

Answer:  B  That is correct! Robins like to eat fruit such as cherries, grapes, tomatoes and olives. While this can be a burden on farmers, robins also provide helpful services to agriculture such as insect control and seed dispersal.

8.  Robins are a type of bird called a thrush. In fact, they are the biggest thrush in North America. What are characteristics of thrushes?

1. large eyes, eats from the ground, blue eggs

2. eats mainly seeds, hops sideways, yellow feet

3. does not migrate, roosts in dead trees, slender beak

Answer:  A  Thrushes have large eyes, eat from the ground and lay blue eggs. Most American thrushes are gray or brown with a white underside speckled with brown or black. Robins are larger and much more brightly colored.

 

RIDDLE ANSWERS

1. Because Robin ate all the worms.

2. Tickle it in the middle and see which end laughs.

3. They’re hooked on them.

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