Ah yes, the answer to this week’s quiz.  Here is what I remember about the quiz: the clues are all about birds, but the answer is not.  OK, got it.  Clues=birds.  Answer=not birds.

I gave clues to the first four words in a sequence of words, your job was to get the next word in sequence.  Here are the clues, and their answers:

1st two words … I’m listening to a local birdsong right now, eastern US north to Canada, common, suburban … Tufted Titmouse … “Peter, Peter”.

3rd word, 1st syllable … what do Kirtland’s Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Palm Warbler, American Pipit (and maybe others) ­­­­­have in common? … The “pump” their tails.

3rd word, 2nd syllable …  Florida breeding one-word named bird, the northern limits of its breeding range, swamps, marshes, last three letters of the name … Limpkin … “kin”.

4th word, What do bee, gnat and honey have in common? … bird families, bee-eater, gnat-eater, honey-eater … “eater”.

As I said, all of the clues have to do with birds.  Putting the answers together in sequence … “Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater”.  Here is a common version of this children’s nursery rhyme in today’s parlance:

“Peter, Peter pumpkin eater,

Had a wife but couldn’t keep her;

He put her in a pumpkin shell

And there he kept her very well.”

And so the answer to this week’s quiz is “Had”.  I hope you had some fun with this one.

Congratulations to Nick, who got the right answer within moments.

See you next quiz.

 

Written by Jory
Jory's first field guide-identified bird was a Northern Cardinal. This turned out to be his gateway drug into birding. In 2007 Jory became the least accomplished birder to see 300 birds in New York State in one year. He has birded the world over but maintains his birding "beginner mind", of which he is inordinately proud. Just ask him. Jory is the 10,000 Birds Avian Quizmaster, coming up with ever more diabolical ways to stump his legion of devoted fans. He lives with his wife and the possessions of his children just outside of Albany NY.