Raptor Quiz

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1 - C - There is no such bird species called a seahawk but it refers to the Osprey. As for the Seattle Seahawks Football Team the actual team mascot is an Augur Buzzard called Taima. Before every home game, the Seattle Seahawks releases a trained hawk named Taima to fly out of the tunnel before the players, lead them onto the field and get the crowd excited. The nine-year-old Augur Buzzard, a hawk species native to Africa, not a seafaring species that can properly be called a sea hawk. The falconer, David Knutson, who trained Taima originally wanted an Osprey but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prohibited him from using a native bird for commercial purposes. Instead, he ordered an Augur Buzzard hatchling—which has markings roughly similar to an Osprey—from St. Louis' World Bird Sanctuary and trained it to deal with the noise and activities of the football game.


2 - B -there are 15 species of owls in Washington State:
Barn owl
Great horned owl
Western screech owl
Spotted owl
Northern saw whet owl
Northern pygmy owl
Burrowing owl
Barred owl
Snowy owl
Great grey owl
Northern hawk owl
Long eared owl
Short eared owl
Flammulated owl
Boreal owl

There are 19 species of owls in North America:
in addition to the species found in Washington State the other four are-
Elf owl
Eastern screech owl,
Whiskered Screech owl
Ferruginous pygmy owl







3 - False - The 4 characteristics of a raptor or birds-of-prey are: strong grasping feet with sharp talons for capturing, killing food and defense, hooked beak for ripping/ taring food, diet consists mostly of other animals and keen eye sight for hunting
The term "raptor" is derived from the Latin word rapere, which means to seize. Raptors include various species of eagles, falcons, hawks, vultures, owls, kites, Osprey and Northern Harrier. Most raptors are members of the Orders Strigiformes (owls) or Falconiformes (falcons, hawks, eagles, osprey, harriers and kites). All raptors are protected by state and federal laws.







4 - FALSE - A pellet / casting is the compacted mass of undigested food material that is formed in the stomach and is regurgitated by the raptor.
The contents of a pellet depends on the bird's diet, but can include the bones, fur, insect exoskeletons, indigestible plant matter, feathers, bills, claws, and teeth. In falconry the pellet is called a casting. Pellets are formed within six to ten hours of a meal. Click here for a Virtual Pellet Dissection







5 - B - The American kestrel is the most common and smallest falcon in North America.







6 - D -There are 4 eagle species are found in the United States. Bald eagles and Golden eagles are native. Two other eagle species - White-tailed sea eagle and Steller's sea eagle are visitors to Alaska from Asia and Eurasia .







7 - True - Vultures & Condors defend themselves in two ways: biting and regurgitating undigested food on their attacker. Vultures & Condors are the raptor species that have very weak feet and do not use their their feet & talons for capturing food or for defense







8 - There are a number of things in your neighborhood or city that could cause injury to a raptor:
a - rat & mouse poisons (poisoned rodents often leave buildings or poison traps and are captured & eaten by the raptors)
b - cats and dogs (baby raptors are often on the ground before they can fly and are vulnerable to free roaming pets)
c - volleyball & soccer nets (when left up at night, owls often fly into them and get tangled
d - kite string left in trees (owls often get tangled in the string)
e - discarded fishing line along shores
f - power lines
g - building windows
h - windmills
i - cars (raptors often hunt along roads)
j - highrise buildings (a hazard to migrating birds when flying at night)







9 -False - Some owl species do hunt and are active during the day. If you have any questions call your local wildlife rehabilitation center or Western Wildlife Encounters. Some species of owl that hunt by day are: burrowing owl, Snowy owl and Northern pygmy owl. Barred owls sometimes hunt during the day when food is hard to find in the winter and when raising young.
Some species are "crepuscular" which means they hunt and are primarily active at dawn and dusk. Examples include Short eared owl, Great grey owl.







10 - C- 2200 = A single barn owl can eat as many as 6 voles or mice size rodents per night. This is a good reason to protect owls and their habitat. They are the best rodent prevention we have.








11 - False - Owls cannot twist their head 360 degrees but they can turn 3/4 of the way, approx 260 degrees. They have double the bones (14) in their neck than humans. Those bones are also seated differently that ours are.







12 - B - The Great horned owl is the earliest breeder of the owls in the United States. In many areas of the US they will lay eggs as early as December







13 - True - Orinmegalonyx is believed to be the first owl species 58 million years ago. It was ground dwelling, 3 ft (1.1 meter) tall and approximately 20 lbs (9kg)







14 - False - Aurornis xui is believed to be the first prehistoric bird. The flight feathers were small so the bird could not fly.

Aurornis xui lived during the Middle-Late Jurassic Period around 160 million years ago. It was about half a meter from its beak to the tip of its tail – the size of a pheasant. It had a long tail and legs with claws and small sharp teeth. Found in China, the prehistoric fossil laid in a Chinese museum archives unidentified until 2013.

Aurormis xui trumps Archaeopteryx (Jerassic Period 150 million years ago) as the oldest known bird is significant because when it was discovered in Germany in 1861, Archaeopteryx came to be seen as the first proof that birds evolved from dinosaurs and was the first fossil to support Darwin’s theory of evolution. Archaeopteryx was 3 feet tall, had teeth, claws on wings and feathers. Fossil found in Germany in 1861.










BONUS - Simple things you can do to protect raptors and other animal species are:
a - do not use poisons to kill rodents. Alternatives are live and electric shock traps
b - do not cut down snag or dead trees if possible. These dead trees often provide cavities for nesting
c - if trees need to be trimmed or removed do it in the late fall or winter months when raptors and other animals are not nesting
d - teach youth that have pellet or BB guns not to shoot at birds
(Raptors and most other bird species are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act
e - encourage your local town/city to require high-rise buildings to turn off the inside lights at night
f - do not discard food from your vehicle. This attracts rodents along the roadways and encourages raptors to hunt near the traffic
g - don't let your dog or cat roam outdoors without being supervised and keep them leashed when in public areas
h - don't use lead sinkers or gun shot. Many eagles are poisoned after eating fish and waterfowl that have ingested lead
i - remove discarded fishing line and kite string
j - have parks and schools remove or lay down soccer and volleyball nest when not in use and at night
k - if you have glass around a balcony or large glass window/door place decorative decals on the glass so birds can see it or hang a decorative wind sock or something that blows in the wind in front of the glass to alert birds
l - book a raptor program for your school or civic group to learn more about raptors (Call Western Wildlife Encounters or your local wildlife center and book a program today!