Ohio State FFA Nature Interpretation Written Test

April 2, 2005

Matching answers can be used once, twice, or not at all.

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Matching – Match the bird to its song.

  1. Descending whinny; call note is a “pick”
  2. Nasal trill sounds like the “churrr” of a raccoon
  3. Loud “keek, keek, keek”
  4. Raspy ”Q” sound that sounds like “queer”
  5. Pileated woodpecker
  6. Red-headed woodpecker
  7. Common flicker
  8. Downy woodpecker
  9. Red-bellied woodpecker

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Matching –Identify the parts of this bird wing.

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  1. Primary coverts
  2. Scapulars
  3. Secondaries
  4. Primaries
  5. Alula

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Matching – Match the description of each frog with the correct species.

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  1. Dark, rectangular markings on back & sides
  2. Dark spots have a light border around them on a green or brown body
  3. Noticeable dark facial mask behind and under eye
  4. X-shaped mark on back of this small frog
  5. Pickerel frog
  6. Northern leopard frog
  7. Eastern wood frog
  8. Gray tree frog
  9. Spring peeper

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Matching – The method of movement can be a clue to identifying tracks. Match the animal with its tracking pattern.

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  1. White-tailed deer
  2. Squirrel
  3. Beaver
  1. Hoppers – placing their back feet ahead of their front as they move
  2. Waddlers – moving their right side and then their left
  3. Straight-liners – placing their back feet in the prints of their front feet.

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Matching – Match the snake with its primary diet.

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  1. Brown snake
  2. Eastern hognose snake
  3. Black rat snake
  4. Blue racer
  5. Snails
  6. Toads
  7. Small mammals
  8. Other snakes

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  1. Which of the following birds is likely to be found living in a bluebird house?
  2. Barn swallow
  3. European starling
  4. Chickadee
  5. Short-eared owl
  6. American robin
  1. Which bird call is most often incorrectly used in movies to represent an eagle?
  2. Broad-winged hawk
  3. American kestrel
  4. Long-eared owl
  5. Sharp-shinned hawk
  6. Red-tailed hawk
  1. Which extirpated mammal was reintroduced to Ohio in the 1980s in the Grand River, Killbuck Creek, Little Muskingum River and Stillwater Creek?
  2. Beaver
  3. River Otter
  4. Muskrat
  5. Mink
  6. Bobcat
  1. This small accipiter can be found perching near birdfeeders in search of a bird for a meal.
  2. Sharp-shinned hawk
  3. American kestrel
  4. Broad-winged hawk
  5. Red-shouldered hawk
  6. Red-tailed hawk
  1. Place the bird life stages in order from youngest to oldest.
  2. Fledgling, hatchling, juvenile, adult
  3. Fledgling, juvenile, hatchling, adult
  4. Hatchling, fledgling, juvenile, adult
  5. Hatchling, juvenile, fledgling, adult
  6. Juvenile, hatchling, adult, fledgling
  1. When does the Great-horned owl nest?
  2. February
  3. April
  4. June
  5. August
  6. Several times each year
  1. What is the primary diet of Bald eagles?
  2. Rabbits
  3. Mice
  4. Birds
  5. Deer
  6. Fish
  1. Which is the largest rodent?
  2. Woodchuck
  3. Beaver
  4. Eastern chipmunk
  5. Muskrat
  6. Eastern cottontail
  1. The family Mephitidae was recently split from the Mustelidae family putting these twelve North American species in a separate grouping from the Mustelids.
  2. Rabbit
  3. Beaver
  4. Skunk
  5. Deer
  6. Vole
  1. What is Ohio’s state gemstone?
  2. Gypsum
  3. Flint
  4. Amethyst
  5. Quartz
  6. Coal

  1. Which is true of salamanders?
  2. All have eyelids.
  3. All breed in the spring.
  4. Most have five toes on front and back feet.
  5. None can breed as larvae.
  6. All have lungs.
  1. What is the name of the gland on toads that produces a foul-tasting secretion?
  2. Carotoid
  3. Salivary
  4. Parotoid
  5. Secretin
  6. Proglastin
  1. What would you use to determine water clarity in a pond or lake?
  2. Seine
  3. Sling psychrometer
  4. Dissolved oxygen meter
  5. Bottom-sampling dredge
  6. Secchi disk
  1. Which trap would be best for collecting mole salamanders in a vernal pool survey?
  2. Conibear trap
  3. Minnow trap
  4. Plankton net
  5. Snake hook
  6. Steel spring tram
  1. Which would not be used in a weather station?
  2. Anemometer
  3. Psychrometer
  4. Dessicator
  5. Thermometer
  6. Hygrometer
  1. Which plant is used in flavoring for Earl Grey Tea?
  2. Wild bergamot
  3. Red clover
  4. Ground-ivy
  5. Heal-all
  6. Yarrow

  1. This plant’s scientific name, Achillea millefolium, comes from the fact it was supposed to be used to treat the wound of Achilles.
  2. Prairie-dock
  3. Yarrow
  4. Marsh-marigold
  5. Common ragweed
  6. Purple coneflower
  1. Another name for this wildflower is ‘cranesbill’ because the seedpod looks like this large bird’s bill.
  2. Wild lupine
  3. Common milkweed
  4. Wild columbine
  5. Cardinal-flower
  6. Wild geranium
  1. What flower is pollinated by snails and slugs?
  2. Mayapple
  3. Ground-ivy
  4. Wild ginger
  5. Indian cucumber-root
  6. Trout-lily
  1. This plant is also called ‘ale hoof’ as it is underfoot and was used to make ale.
  2. Common burdock
  3. Ground ivy
  4. Wild carrot
  5. Spring-beauty
  6. Canadian violet
  1. This squirrel is at its most eastern range in Ohio, found primarily in prairie states.
  2. Southern flying squirrel
  3. Red squirrel
  4. Eastern fox squirrel
  5. Thirteen-line ground squirrel
  6. Gray squirrel
  1. Which turtle requires a fishing license in order to take from a river or public lake/pond?
  2. Common snapping turtle
  3. Eastern box turtle
  4. Midland painted turtle
  5. Smooth softshell
  6. A and D
  1. Tracks are found in the snow showing four toes on the front feet and five toes on the back. Which animal could it be?
  2. Fox
  3. Skunk
  4. Squirrel
  5. Raccoon
  6. Deer
  1. What is the recommended placement for gray squirrel nest boxes?
  2. At least 20’ above the ground and facing west.
  3. No more than 20’ above the ground with the hole facing to the northwest
  4. In a tree with at least a 24” diameter.
  5. At least 50’ high in a tree.
  6. At least 30’ above the ground and facing east or south.
  1. Which is true in comparing the Eastern woodrat with the Norway rat?
  2. Eastern woodrats have a gray belly; Norway rats have a white belly.
  3. Both rats are nuisances that spread disease.
  4. Eastern woodrats have a hairy tail; Norway rats have a scaly tail.
  5. Neither species are native to Ohio.
  6. None of the above
  1. Which is an adaptation of birds that makes them lighter so that they can more easily fly?
  2. They have hollow bones
  3. They lack a urinary bladder
  4. Air sacs are found in their bodies and attached to their lungs.
  5. All of the above
  6. None of the above.
  1. What makes interpretive signs more effective?
  2. Avoiding titles or headlines
  3. Use capital letters throughout the text
  4. Include simple illustrations
  5. Use lots of different sizes fonts, bold, italic, underlined, etc.
  6. C and D

  1. How long is a surveyor’s chain?
  2. 50 feet
  3. 50 meters
  4. 66 feet
  5. 100 meters
  6. 660 feet
  1. Which bird has a flute-like song commonly found in fields and fencerows?
  2. Tufted titmouse
  3. Eastern meadowlark
  4. Cardinal
  5. Crested flycatcher
  6. Red-tailed hawk
  1. Which animal is an insectivore?
  2. Meadow vole
  3. House mouse
  4. Starnose mole
  5. Short-tailed shrew
  6. C and D
  1. It’s spring. You hear a squeaky sound, similar to a wheelbarrow wheel. What is it?
  2. Spring peeper
  3. Black and white warbler
  4. Gray treefrog
  5. Hooded warbler
  6. Cedar waxwing
  1. How many petals do violets have?
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

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