1. Name the 1946 Disney Movie featuring the tune "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah."
In Song of the South, Uncle Remus sang Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, which
won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Song (words by Ray Gilbert,
music by Allie Wrubel, voice of Remus by James Baskett, recorded
and popularized by Johnny Mercer and the Pied Pipers). The lyrics
are:
Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
My, oh my, what a wonderful day.
Plenty of sunshine headed my way.
Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
Mister bluebird on my shoulder
It's the truth, it's actual.
Everything is satisfactual.
Zip a dee doo-dah, zip a dee ay
Wonderful feelin'.
Wonderful day.
2. The Eastern Bluebird is the state bird of ________ and
_________.
The Eastern Bluebird was designated the State Bird of Missouri
in 1927; and of New York in 1970, despite one delegate's comment "I
think this is a bit premature. After all, who has ever seen
a bluebird, except perhaps on the cover of a greeting card?"
3. " Without question
the most deplorable event in the history of American ornithology
was the introduction of the ___________ ." -W.L.
Dawson, The Birds of Ohio , 1903
The English (or House)
Sparrow. The population of
House Sparrows exploded after their introduction
to the U.S.
in 1850/1851, resulting in agricultural damage. House Sparrows
also aggressively compete with other cavity-nesters such as the
bluebird, destroying eggs, nestlings and adults.
4. Who said: " Who
has decided - who has the right to decide - for
the countless legions of people who were not consulted that
the supreme value is a world without insects, even though
it be also a world ungraced by the curving wing of a bird in
flight ?"
In her 1962 book "Silent Spring," Rachel Carson
expressed concern about the impact of DDT and other pesticides
on bird populations. She noted "
Over increasingly large areas of the United States, spring now comes unheralded
by the return of the birds, and the early mornings are strangely silent where
once they were filled with the beauty of bird song." DDT was
used widely in the U.S. from the late 1940's through 1972, with usage peaking
in 1959, to kill disease vectors such as mosquitoes and agricultural pests.
However, DDT bioaccumulates, and as the concentration in birds fatty tissues
increases, egg shell thickness decreases.
5. Name birds or animals that
will attack eggs/nestlings/adult bluebirds in a nestbox.
The raccoon, feral cat,
opossum, black rat snake, House Sparrow, House Wren, bluejay, starling, red-headed woodpecker (eggs and nestlings),
red squirrel, and gray
squirrel may prey on eggs/nestlings or adult bluebirds inside
a nestbox. Properly designed boxes and predator guards can
minimize the likelihood of successful attacks by raccoons,
cats, snakes, starlings and squirrels. Other
predators of fledgling and adult bluebirds include the red
tail hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, and barred owl.
6. Name birds that will nest in Eastern Bluebird nestbox.
7. Who recorded "I Wish You Love" (". I
wish you bluebirds in the Spring, To give your heart a
song to sing, And then a kiss, But more than this, I wish
you love! ") in
1946.
Frank Sinatra recorded this tune written by C. Trenet, and translated
to English by A.A. Beach.
8. Between 1926-1938, which of the following
established bluebird trails?
a. Thomas E. Musselman, Illinois
b.
Amelia
Laskey, Nashville
c.
Junior Audubon Club of Missouri
d. The
Better Garden Club of Missouri
e.
All of the above
All of the above established trails. It is interesting that
recognition of decreased bluebird populations occurred so early.
The grassroots nature of bluebird conservation is also noteworthy.
9. What
was the year of publication for Larry Zeleny's (founder of NABS)
article in National Geographic entitled "Song of Hope
for the Bluebirds"?
June 1977.
This was the first article in a large, general-interest publication
to highlight the bluebird's plight, and it resulted in a
groundswell of support. The following year, Zeleny officially
founded the North American Bluebird Society.
10. In 1970, Lorne Scott of Saskatchewan was
single-handedly monitoring a bluebird trail with
#____ boxes.
2,000 boxes. This may be the largest trail handled by one individual.
Bonus questions:
11. The bluebird appears on a ___ cent stamp
issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
The Eastern Bluebird appears on a three cent stamp issued in
1991, and again in 1996. The 1991 stamp does not have a
"¢" symbol after the number 3. On1982 the U.S. Postal Service issued a State Birds and Flowers 20 cent stamp series for all 50 states, with the bluebirds painted by Arthur Singer depicted on stamps for Idaho, Missouri, Nevada and New York. The Mountain Bluebird appears on a 25 cent stamp issued for the
Idaho Statehood Centenary in 1990.
12. In early records,
the bluebird was referred to as (check all that apply)
a. Blew
Bird
b. Blue Robin
c. Blue Warbler
d. Blue Bonnet
e. Blue Redbreast
All but "d". In 1722, Mark Catesby,
an English artist, published The Natural
History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which
included one plate entitled "The Blew Bird." He noted "They
make their nests in holes of trees, are harmless birds, and
resemble our robin-redbreast."
Like Robins, bluebirds are members of the thrush family.
13. What color are bluebird eggs?
Typically blue (darker blue than a robin's egg.) About
4-5% of bluebird eggs are white. Birds hatching from white
eggs have normal pigmentation. Pale pink eggs have also been
reported.
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