Dear Readers, the quiz was a tie this week, with Claire and Fran and Bobby Freelove both getting 7 out of 10, so well done to Claire, Fran and Bobby, and thank you to everyone for playing the quizzes so diligently all year. 

Now, for Christmas this year I am trying something different. Every day between Christmas Day and January 5th, I am going to do a post on the general theme of the Twelve Days of Christmas (though some days will be more closely related to the song than others). Every day, there will be one related question (though I reserve the right to do multiple parts 🙂 ). I will post the links to previous days every day too, so you don’t have to interrupt your Christmas pudding or New Year champagne to have a go. On Twelfth Night (5th January) I will do a recap of the whole quiz.

You will have until January 7th to complete the quiz, and I would like you to post all your answers at once after the final quiz on January 5th, rather than day by day, just to make things a bit simpler to keep track of. 

So, thinking caps on! We start on Christmas Day!

Question One

This is a wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Question Two

What sex is this holly bush?

This is female – only female bushes bear berries (holly has separate male and female plants)

Question Three

If you saw this bee buzzing about in the autumn, which Christmassy plant is likely to be nearby?

This is an ivy bee (Colletes hedarae) so I would expect there to be some flowering ivy nearby.

Question Four

The world record for the number of brussels sprouts eaten in one minute is held by Linus Urbanec of Sweden. How many did he eat?

31, each one eaten raw and picked up with a cocktail stick.

Question Five

Which popular Christmas vegetable was so liked by the Roman Emperor Tiberius  that he accepted it as part of the tribute paid to Rome by Germany?

The parsnip.

Question Six

Why is a robin called a ‘red breast’ when it’s actually closer to the colour orange?

Because the word for ‘orange’ only appeared in the English Language in 1502, and wouldn’t become popular as a description of the colour until the 1570s when William of Orange came to power in Europe. Before this, many orange things were either called ‘red’ or ‘reddish-yellow’.

Question Seven

Which unfortunate bird was hunted on St Stephen’s Day in Ireland and on the Isle of Man until recent times?

The wren

Question Eight

What Christmas animal makes this sound?

The reindeer – the clicks are tendons in the animals’ legs’.

Question Nine

Which is the only nut (much loved at Christmas) that contains significant amounts of Vitamin C?

The chestnut

Question Ten

And finally, which Christmas bird is making these sounds (and why are you unlikely to hear them these days?)

The grey partridge (Perdix perdix), which has declined in numbers and is now on the RSPB’s red list for endangered birds.