Sunday, November 23, 2008

Get ready, it's Latin trivia time!

Just how well do you know the Latin names of birds?  You're going to find out. 
Today I have 2 separate quizzes designed to test your knowledge of Latin names.  

Post your answers in the comments section. Good Luck!

Quiz 1.
Below are 10 names. Each in Latin and in English. Match the Latin name to the common name. 
Here's the catch, 2 of the names don't have a match.  Have Fun! 

1. Charadrius alexandrinus          A. White-rumped Sandpiper

2. Larus dominicanus                   B. Yellow-rumped Warbler

3. Columbina passerina                C. Snowy Plover

4. Calidris fuscicollis                     D. Boreal Owl

5. Dendroica coronata                   E. Common Ground-Dove

6. Aegolius funereus                      F. Kelp Gull

7. Myiarchus crinitus                     G. Marsh Wren

8. Cistothorus palustris                H. Great-crested Flycatcher

9. Peucedramus taeniatus             I. Botteri's Sparrow

10. Nyctidromus albicollis            J. Olive Warbler                    



Quiz 2. 
Here are ten Common names. Below them is the literal English translation of their Latin name. Match the translation to the common name. 

Common names:
1. Gyrfalcon

2. Common Redpoll

3. Red-throated Loon

4. Northern Gannet

5. White-necked Petrel

6. Violet-green Swallow

7. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

8. Tennesee Warbler

9. Harris's Sparrow

10. Bobolink

Literal Latin name translations:
A. "The seabird who is covered with stars"

B. "The stupid one of Bass Rock" 

C. "The swift mover who resembles the sea in color" 

D. "The banded thrush who is always full of complaints" 

E. "The foreign worm-eater" 

F. "The absolute ruler who possesses scissors" 

G. "The White-collared Wing runner"

H. "The Rustic falcon of the farm"

I. "The Long-clawed Rice eater" 

J. "The Goldfinch of Flame" 


Hope you have fun and Good luck! I'll post the answer in about a week. 

Today's Blog of the Day is: 
Why? Refer to one of his posts here

Happy Birding! 

2 comments:

Tim Hajda said...

This is my kind of quiz!

On the first part:

1=C
2=F
3=E
4=A
5=B
6=D
7=H
8=G
9=J
10=??? (The only remaining combination was "Nyctidromus albicollis," which is Common Pauraque. Definitely not a Botteri's Sparrow!)

On the second part:

1=H
2=J
3=A
4=B
5=G
6=C
7=F
8=E
9=D
10=I

Great quiz, I love Latin names.

Anonymous said...

I am learning Latin now but don't quite know enough to tell you what any of those words are yet. The ones I did know were:

2-F
5-B
7-H

Those were the only ones I could match on the whole list on the top without using a book.