If you don’t recognize this bird right off don’t feel bad. Not too many can. Fewer yet have seen one. There are not many of them in this country. And almost all are concentrated in southeastern Arizona.
It's an Elegant Trogon. Looks a little like a parrot. It’s not. More like a songbird. (You might dispute that if you heard its croaking “song.”)
They nest in abandoned woodpecker holes. Preferably near sycamores and streams.
Now if you took the Arizona quiz last time, I promised answers:
The name Arizona comes from:
A A Tohono O’odham word Ali-Shonak, meaning "place of the small spring"
B Aztec's arizuma meaning "silver-bearing"
C Spanish zona arida, translated as “arid zone.”
D Basque arizonac, translated as the “good oak trees.”
E All of the above
E. It all depends on who you talk to.
The famous “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place:
A In the O.K. Corral
B Next to the O.K. Corral
C Next to a Photographic Studio
D Mainstreet Tombstone
C. Next to C.S. Fly’s photographic studio. Fly saw it but it was over too quickly for photos. Thirty seconds. : )
The Arizona state animal is the:
A Coyote
B Ringtail Cat
C Sonoran Pronghorn (Antelope)
B. For those who have driven across the desert on I-10 “The Thing” may be the most familiar. But the state animal is the seldom seen Ringtail Cat or "Ringtail" (not a cat at all—It's related to racoons).
By Robertbody at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10537526
The state reptile is:
A Arizona Diamondback
B Ridgenose Rattlesnake
C Gila Monster
D State reptile?
B. Not the Gila Monster. It seems to me if they're going to have a state reptile,this famous symbol of Arizona would be great. But for some reason they chose the Ridgenose Rattlesnake. Never heard of it. They must have picked it because by the time Arizona finally became the 48th state, all the good reptiles were taken.
Arizonans believe in:
A Hoodoos
B Haboobs
D All of the above
D. While the rest of us might scratch our heads, Arizonans know these things well. The Havasupai are an Indian tribe in the Grand Canyon. As for the other two see Bird-Call: "Hoodoo-What" and "Of-birds-and-haboobs."
Arizona is home to: [Choose any that apply]
A The San Francisco Peaks
B The London Bridge
C The Colorado River
D The California Condor (Road-trip-through-time)
A,B,C,D. Missing is a town named Arizona. It’s in Texas.
AZ Garnets are mined:
A In open pit mines
B In Utah
C By ants
D In silver mines
C. They can be mined in vertical shafts, but some of the best are mined by ants. They bring the semi-precious stones to the surface as they excavate. Native Americans pick them up and sell them.
Geronimo after eluding as many as 5000 troops died:
A From gunshot wounds
B Of starvation
C At the hand of fellow Apaches
D By falling off his horse
D. Some say he was pitched off. Again it depends on who you talk to.
Who discovered Pluto at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff?
A Percival Lowell
B Clyde W. Tombaugh
C. Walt Disney
B. Clyde W Tombaugh
Bonus question:
I have to ask: what is the state bird?
A Black-tailed Gnat Catcher
B Cactus Wren
C. Arizona Woodpecker
D. Gila Woodpecker
B. Cactus Wren
: )
