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 development on Dunmaglass Estate in the Highlands is predicted to decimate the Golden Eagle population in the region?
10 What was the Scottish population of Golden Eagles in 2003?
11 Who first described Gurney’s Pitta?
12 Where in the British Isles has the Red-winged Laughingthrush (Garrulax formosus) regularly bred since 1996, having escaped from captivity?
13 Name three of the eight key species targeted in the Scarce Woodland Bird Survey conducted by the BTO in 2005 and 2006?
14 Which of the following does not exist – Mountain White-eye, Mountain Black-eye, Barrow’s Goldeneye or Barrow’s Silver-eye?
15 What bird, according to BWP ‘may attempt to force prey off mountain ledges including sheep, chamois, steinbok and even man’?
16 In the hard winter of 1962/63, what was the highest recorded number of wrens observed entering a single nest-box in Britain?
17 Which species of goose could Roman Catholics eat on Fridays in the belief that it was a fish?
18 The BBC reported the rediscovery of which species on 28th April 2005 (unfortunately getting its name wrong)?
19 Where was the only area in England in which Hen Harriers bred successfully in 2004?
20 What was the 2003 population of the Galapagos Penguin reckoned to be?
2005 D
Brian Small – Limosa
