Bird Trivia

In our household, we love trivia. We look forward to the trivia column in our local newspaper each Sunday and eagerly participate in trivia contests. My husband is the trivia quizmaster for a local weekly seniors’ program. I thought I would share some interesting bird facts here. The answers to these questions are shown below.

1. What is the fastest bird on land?
2. What is the fastest bird in flight?
3. What bird has the largest wingspan?
4. What bird flies the highest?
5. What is the smallest bird?
6. What bird feeds with its head upside down?
7. Which birds have the largest flocks?
8. What is the collective name for a group of Northern Cardinals?
9. What bird is the current record holder for world’s oldest wild bird?
10. What bird is the most common in the world?

Now, the answers. 

1. The Ostrich can reach running speeds of up to 70 km/h (43 mph). It outruns predators with strides of up to 16 feet.
2. The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird and fastest animal on earth. It has diving speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph) and it reaches top speeds exceeding 380 km/h (240 mph) during its stoop (hunting dive).
3. The Wandering Albatross has a wing span of 3.5 metres (11.5 ft), from wing tip to wing tip.
4. The highest flying bird is the Rüppell’s Vulture of Africa. It has been confirmed that this bird has flown at an altitude of 11,300 metres (37,000 ft) above sea level. They can reach heights comparable to cruising jets, helped by specialized hemoglobin that lets them breathe in low-oxygen environments.
5. The smallest bird in the world is the Bee Hummingbird, which is only found in Cuba. Males measure 5.5 cm (2.1 inches). They weigh less than two grams.
6. The Flamingo feeds with its head upside down. It swings its bill from side to side, filtering small organisms out of the mud.
7. Birds that form large flocks include starlings (murmurations), blackbirds, Red-billed Queleas, shorebirds, geese, and cranes.
8. A group of Northern Cardinals can be called a conclave, a college, a vatican, or a radiance. The bird’s name was inspired by the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals.
9. The longest-living wild bird is Wisdom, a female Laysan Albatross, estimated to be 75 years old as of 2025.
10. The domestic chicken, with an estimated population of 20 – 30 billion, is the most common bird in the world. This question stumped everyone at a trivia event we attended.

Note: Cartoon of Northern Cardinal at top of column generated by Google Gemini.