1	Describe the difference between the tails of a Red-winged Blackbird and a Brown-headed Cowbird.
2	How do the tails of small finches such as the American Goldfinch and the Pine Siskin differ from those of some common sparrows?
3	What overall difference can you see between the tails of gulls and terns in flight?
4	How can the shape of the tail help you distinguish a crow from a raven in flight?
5	Where are you most likely to see a gull or tern, and on what will it be feeding?
6	A black-and-white duck flies by very fast, reminding you of an arrow. What is it?
7	A rather small bird is sitting on the water but dives frequently, so you have a hard time getting a good look at it. Its bill is like a little spear, not like a duck’s bill. What do you think it is?
8	A very small black duck with a white cheek patch is a __________.
9	You see a black, whit, and gray duck with a large white patch on its face. It’s a ___________.
10	A small duck with a beautiful chestnut and green head sits on a pond, dabbling at vegetation. What is it?
11	How does the head of a Northern Goshawk differ from that of a Cooper’s Hawk?
12	A small bird is standing on a lawn so far away that you can hardly see its shape. It stands still for a few seconds, runs a few feet, stands still again, and then repeats this behavior, occasionally pecking at the grass. What family does it belong to?
13	A small elongated bird is hanging upside down in a fir tree, pecking at a cone. What kind of bird is it?
14	A very small bird with a short thin bill is flitting around in the branches of a tree, hopping quickly from branch to branch. It keeps flashing its wings out. What is it?
15	A small bird is perched at the top of an exposed tree branch. It just sits there, hardly moving. Whoops – suddenly it darts out into the air, turns around, and returns to its perch. What is it most likely to be?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1	Blackbird’s tail has a round tip; cowbird’s is slightly notched.
2	Goldfinch and Pine Siskin have slightly notched tails; sparrows such as Song, Lincoln’s, and Swamp have rounded tails.
3	Almost all gulls have fan-shaped, round tails; almost all terns have forked tails.
4	Crow’s tails are fan-shaped; raven’s tails is wedge-shaped, broadening out and then narrowing to a round (almost pointed) end.
5	Gulls and terns live around water. Terns eat fish or other aquatic animals. Gulls eat everything, including carrion and garbage.
6	Merganser
7	A grebe.
8	Female Bufflehead.
9	Goldeneye.
10	Green-winged teal.
11	The Goshawk has strong black-and-white head stripes, especially a white eyebrow; the Cooper’s has only a mottled black and gray head, with something of a black crown.
12	Thrush.
13	Chickadee.
14	Kinglet.
15	Flycatcher.