Who’s ready for a brief wood-warbler quiz?

It’s the Q and A portion of the day, so feel free to satisfy your wonderment with the following questions (answers appear far below):

1. To which family do some taxonomists believe is most closely related to wood-warblers?

2. If you include North, Central, and South America, and the West Indies, how many wood-warblers exist?

3. Although most wood-warblers possess small bills, which two species have more robust ones?

4. Which common wood-warbler has rictal bristles (like flycatchers) to help it sense prey while pursuing insects?

5. Although most songbirds have ten functional primary flight feathers on each wing, how many do wood-warblers possess?

6. Among the 53 typical annual breeding North American wood-warblers, what’s typical about their breeding behavior in contrast to Central and South American wood-warbler species?

ANSWERS:

1. Some taxonomists place wood-warblers closest in relation to the tanager family, Thraupidae (sometimes treated as a subfamily, Thraupinae, of Emberizidae). Other researchers believe they are nearest to the New World finches family, Emberizidae.

2. 126 species amidst 28 genera.

3. Yellow-breasted Chat and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.

4. American Redstart.

5. Nine.

6. North American wood warblers remain monogamous for the breeding season, while Central and South American pairs may persist together for longer periods.