Category Archives: Quiz

What’s a Peduncle?

October 5, 2018Plants, QuizKate St. John

*Fuji apples (photo from Wikimedia Commons)*

Here’s a puzzle. Don’t google it. Look at the photos to arrive at an answer.

In botany: What is a peduncle?

We encounter peduncles every day though we don’t use the word much anymore. Since 1950 the word has fallen out of common use and because it looks like pedophile+uncle the urban dictionary lists a raunchy meaning. But that’s not what it is.

Peduncle comes from ped (Latin for foot) plus -uncle (an Old French diminutive ending) so it literally means tiny foot.

Each photo on this page has at least one visible peduncle. Can you find it?

Black raspberries (photo by Kate St. John)

Elderberries at Jennings, 4 Aug 2018 (photo by Kate St. John)

Fruit of the ginkgo tree (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Here’s a clue. The number of peduncles in each photo above is:

Apples = 1
Black raspberries = 5 (three are hidden)
Elderberries = too many to count
Ginkgos = 9

Final clue: The photo below shows no fruit, but it has peduncles.

Fruit stems on a Sassafras Tree (photo by Dianne Machesney)

Still stumped? Click here for the answer.

(photos from Kate St. John, Dianne Machesney and Wikimedia Commons. Click on the Wikimedia captions to see the originals.)

An Assortment Of Flowers

August 19, 2018Plants, QuizKate St. John

Here’s an assortment of wildflowers found in western Pennsylvania this month. Many are blooming. One has a fruit.

For fun, a quiz: Can you match their names to the list below?

Cup plant
Partridge pea
Jack in the pulpit
Joe pye-weed
Biennial gaura
Green-headed coneflower
Touch-me-not

(photos by Kate St. John)

Quiz: Identify Them in Flight

January 10, 2018Quiz, Water and ShoreKate St. John

Waterbirds in flight, Florida 2013 (photo by Don Weiss)

Can you identify these birds in flight?

Hints:

Don Weiss took the photo at Merritt Island, Florida.
I see 6 species. Do you see more?
The pink ones are my favorite.
I see wood storks. (But I’m wrong! They are white pelicans.)

(photo by Don Weiss)

The Answer … or at least part of the answer …

Glossy ibis
White pelican –> white tail & black doesn’t extend all the way to the body
Common tern? (Certainly a tern)
Snowy egret (kc saw yellow feet)
Great egret
Roseate spoonbill
White ibis

Any others?

The Reindeer Quiz

December 24, 2017Mammals, QuizKate St. John

Santa, sleigh, and reindeer (image from Clipart Library)

Legend says that reindeer will pull Santa’s sleigh tonight.

What do we know about real reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)?

Here’s a quiz based on Reindeer: 12 Fascinating Facts About These Amazing Creatures on the National Wildlife Federation website. Click on the 12 Facts link to see the answers and even more information.

THE QUIZ:

a. Reindeer live in Europe, Asia and North America, but on our continent they have a different name. What are they called?

Map of reindeer range (image from Wikimedia Commons)

b. Among moose, elk and white-tailed deer, only the males grow antlers. What about reindeer?

c. Reindeer coats change from winter to summer and so do their hooves. What’s different about their hooves and why do they change?

Reindeer in Svalbard (photo by Per Harald Olsen via Wikimedia Commons)

d. “Some subspecies have knees that make a clicking noise when they walk.” What’s the advantage to making this noise? (Do your knees click? Here’s an excuse for it.)

e. Reindeer do migrate and those in North America travel quite far. How far do they go?

f. Reindeer used to live in the Lower 48. Which state? And how long ago was that?

g. Where did we get the idea that reindeer can pull sleighs? Here’s a visual answer.

Reindeer pulling a sleigh circa 1900 in Archangel, Russia (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

h. Who is the leading predator of reindeer calves? (Hint: It’s a bird!)

Visit Reindeer: 12 Fascinating Facts About These Amazing Creatures for the answers.

(clipart from Clipart Library; photos from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the images to see the originals)

Green Eggs On Nettle

August 29, 2017Insects, Fish, Frogs, Plants, QuizKate St. John

Green eggs on stinging nettle leaves (photo by Kate St.John)

Today, a quiz.

I found green eggs on stinging nettle on August 9 at Wolf Creek Narrows, Butler County, PA.

Are they eggs or something else?

And who laid them?

Be A Bird Sleuth

February 2, 2017Quiz, TravelKate St. John

Rufous-tailed jacamar, male (photo from Wikimedia Commons) — Quiz: What bird is this? (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

On a birding trip in Costa Rica:

Back in 2011 I made a bird identification quiz that featured this bird because it looks cool and I’d never seen it before.

Today I’m in Costa Rica within this bird’s home range.

Follow the link below to figure out what bird this is.

Quiz: Be A Bird Sleuth

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the image to see the original)

(*) p.s. As I mentioned on Jan 27, I wrote this article before I left home so I couldn’t know if I’d see this bird. I’ll let you know when I get back.

Day 7: Las Cruces Field Station

Quiz: What Continent?

January 2, 2017QuizKate St. John

What continent? (see photo credit below)

Quiz!

What continent is this?

Quiz: What Bird?

December 18, 2016Quiz, Water and ShoreKate St. John

What bird is flying over the iceberg in Franz Josef Land? (photo from Wikimedia Commons) — What bird is flying here in Franz Josef Land? (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

This Featured picture from Wikimedia Commons was taken in Franz Josef Land, a Russian archipelago of 191 islands in the Arctic Ocean.

It’s a beautiful photo of an iceberg and there’s a bird in it.

Quiz: What bird?

Here are some hints:

Narrow your options by finding out what birds are possible in Franz Josef Land.
Examine a more detailed photo to see the bird’s features. Click here for the image at 800×533 pixels with attribution or here for the full resolution original at 4,596 × 3,064 pixels. (I downsized the photo to fit my blog format.)

So what bird is flying by this iceberg in Russia? I think I know.