Well Dear Readers, first of all congratulations to Mike from Alittlebitoutoffocus, and Fran and Bobby Freelove, who went the distance and managed to complete the whole of the Christmas Quiz, which was quite a marathon this year! Mike got a magnificent score of 43 out of 48, but the winners, with an astonishing 46 out of 48, were Fran and Bobby Freelove, who are clearly champions this year, though Mike, Claire, Sharon, Rosalind and Anne have all given them a bit of a run for their money during the year. And a special mention to Sharon, who got 100% for her answers on French domestic animals on Day Three. Thanks to everyone who’s taken part during the year, and normal Quiz service will be resumed on Sunday next week.  

Here are the answers to the Christmas Quiz.

Question One

The Photo is of The Partridge Family, a popular show when I was growing up, not least because of David Cassidy, a real teen idol.

Question Two

Turtle doves are called turtle doves because of their call, which sounds a bit like ‘tur, tur’.

Question Three

Photo 1) is C, a Bleue du Nord cow

Photo 2) is A, a Baudet de Poitou donkey

Photo 3) is B, a Percheron horse.

Question Four

1) C) – a red-winged blackbird

2) D) – a great-tailed grackle

3) A) – a common raven

4) B) – a ring ouzel

Question Five

1) Goldcrest

2) Golden Eagle

3) Golden Oriole

4) Goldeneye

5) Golden Plover

Question Six

1)D) Greylag goose

2) B) Brent goose

3) A) Pink-footed goose

4) E) Barnacle goose

5) F) Greater white-fronted goose

6) C) Bar-headed goose

The bar-headed goose is the high-flyer, seen flying over the Himalayas from a plane window.

Question Seven

1) B) – The Black swan is from Australasia (though sometimes now seen in ‘the wild’, having escaped from a wildfowl collection.

2) C) – Black-necked swans are found in South America

3) A) – Trumpeter swans are found in North America (including the chilly parts of Canada) (which is most of it :-))

Question Eight

1) E) Bindweed

2) B) Birdsfoot trefoil

3) A) Cowslip

4) D) Cuckooflower

5) F) Greater stitchwort

6) C) Wood anemone

Question Nine

1) B) – Ladies’ Bonnets is another name for Aquilegia/Columbine

2) E) – Ladies Smock is another name for Cuckooflower

3) A) – Lady’s Locket is another name for Solomon’s Seal

4) F) – The Lady’s Slipper orchid

5) D) – Lady’s Mantle is another name for Alchemilla mollis

6) C) – This is the Autumn Lady’s Tresses orchid.

Question Ten

1) Ring-tailed lemur

2) Red Squirrel

3) Vervet Monkey

4) Springbok

5) Humpbacked whale

6) Verraux’s Sifaka

Question Eleven

1) C) Ruddy Turnstone

2) E) Purple sandpiper

3) D) Whimbrel

4) A) Black-tailed godwit

5) B) Avocet

Question Twelve

The bird ‘drumming’ is the Common Snipe