Rail, Inexorable Rail, Invisible Rail or Snoring Rail?
8 In the first ever issue of Bird Watching magazine, what was the title of the article on twitching written by an extremely well-known TV personality (who doesn’t twitch)?
9 Where did the extinct pigeon, the Liverpool Pigeon Caloenas maculata, live?
10 How many chambers does the avian heart have?
11 Which Founder of a great Cambridge College first described the Dotterel as ‘morinellus’ – a little fool?
12 What do Glossy Ibis, Starling, Redstart and Dunnock eggs all have in common?
13 Who killed the Stymphalian Birds?
14 The medical condition of eating unusual substances such as dry paint, coal, excrement etc. shares a name with a common British bird’s Latin name. What is it?
15 What were the six geese doing on the 1977 Great Britain Christmas 7p stamp?
16 What species of wader bred in Wales for the first time in 2003?
17 When was the mysterious never-been-seen-in-the-wild Long-whiskered Owlet discovered?
18 How many nests have been recorded in the BTO’s Nest Record Scheme in its first 65 years?
19 What was the BTO’s Nest Record Scheme originally called?
20 Which feathers are grossly elongated on the wing of the breeding male Pennant-winged Nightjar?
2005 A
David Fisher – Sunbird
Answers: see here
1 What colour is the bill of an adult Red-legged Partridge?
2 What is the least numerous breeding English corvid?
3 What is ‘the Skylark Index’?
4 If you saw a Balbuzard pêcheur in France, what would you be watching?
5 To publicise the plight of which threatened group of birds did John Ridgway sail round the world in 2003/04 in English Rose VI?
6 Which European country has the largest breeding population of Stonechats?
7 What unfortunate slogan did the charity Animal Aid use to alert people to their feelings about the National Cage and Aviary Birds Exhibition at Stoneleigh in 2004?
8 The range of the Wood Duck in North America falls completely within the range of which unrelated species (upon which it is dependent for successful breeding)?
9 When was Gurney’s Pitta last recorded in Myanmar prior to its rediscovery there in 2003?
10 A Razorbill ringed at Bardsey in 2004 had previously been ringed 32, 42 or 52 years before?
11 750,000 eggs of which species are harvested annually in a supposedly sustainable manner in the Seychelles?
12 Who wrote Birds of Burma published in Rangoon in 1940 (and the UK in 1953)?
13 Which species, ringed in Britain, had the most recoveries away from the site of ringing in 2003?
14 Which of the following does not exist – Musician Wren, Harpist Wren, Flutist Wren or Happy Wren?
15 Which close relative of the Okinawa Rail was discovered on 11th May 2004 on the Babuyan Islands in the Philippines?
16 Into what did Aristotle believe that Redstarts changed in order to account for their absence in winter?
17 How many people attended Madagascar’s first Birdfair in 2004, to the nearest 1,000?
18 Are there more birds on the British List described as Yellow, Grey or Golden?
19 In which country is Chaplin’s Barbet endemic?
20 Are there more species of Acrocephalus, Sylvia or Phylloscopus on the British List?
2005 B
Tim Melling – Naturetrek
Answers: see here
1 What colour are the legs of the breeding White-winged Black Tern?
2 Which species was ringed most frequently in Britain in 2003?
3 What was the species upon which Edgar Chance did his pioneering work in Worcestershire in the early part of the 20th century?
4 Following the recent taxonomic revision, of the five Houbara Bustards that have been recorded in Britain, how many have been reidentified as Macqueen’s Bustard?
5 Where do Greylag Geese breeding in the Forest of Dean go to moult?
6 If you saw a Chardonneret in France, what would you be watching?
7 How many wild birds were recorded as imported into the EU in 2000, to the nearest quarter of a million?
8 What was the Spruce Goose?
9 Which species of storm-petrel, believed to be extinct in the 19th century, was rediscovered in 2003?
10 What is Gurney’s Pitta’s current IUCN Red List categorization?
11 When were Porro prismatic binoculars invented, within 5 years?
12 What bird’s song was described by Bobby Tulloch as ‘the sound of fairies being sick’?
13 An individual of which species of albatross wearing a ‘geolocator’ on its leg was recorded to have circumnavigated the Southern Ocean in 46 days, having travelled a minimum of 22,000 km?
14 Which of the following does not exist – Puna Tinamou, Pampas Tinamou, Chaco Tinamou or Choco Tinamou?
15 Common Quail and Turtle Doves in Vojvodina in Serbia are especially threatened by what or who?
16 From where do the eggs used for the current Great Bustard reintroduction programme on Salisbury Plain come (omitting the obvious answer)?
17 Which site won the BTO/Hanson Business Bird Challenge ‘Major Wetland’ category with 188 species recorded in 2004 – beating Rutland Water by three?
18 What percentage of bird species have been recorded hybridising with other species?
19 What percentage of male Mute Swans are estimated to be killed by other swans in territorial disputes in the UK?
20 What was the occupation of John Henry Gurney, after whom the Pitta is named?
2005 C
Nigel Jones – Ornitholidays
Answers: see here
1 What colour is the tail of the Azure-winged Magpie?
2 When were Gannets first recorded breeding on Sule Skerry in the Orkneys?
3 Which Western Palaearctic raptor was made ‘Person of the week’ on the ABC TV World News Tonight programme, after visiting Martha’s Vineyard?
4 What was the last new species seen by the late Phoebe Snetsinger in Madagascar before her death?
5 What feature of some Feral Pigeons appears to reduce their chances of being caught by a stooping Peregrine when compared with those without this feature?
6 If you saw an Alouette lulu in France, what would you be watching?
7 What unique group defence mechanism do Fieldfares Turdus pilaris use on potential predators?
8 What is the largest bird family on the Sibley/Monroe classification?
9 What