Birds are fascinating creatures that inspire curiosity and wonder. Riddles about birds encourage us to think logically and appreciate the diversity of our feathered friends. In this article, we have collected 77 riddles about different types of birds along with their answers. Test your ornithological knowledge and see how many you can get right!
Riddles about common backyard birds
Let’s start with some riddles about birds you’re likely to see in your own backyard.
1. What bird is always out of breath?
A panting bird. (Panting)
2. What birds spend all their time on their knees?
Birds that roost. (Roosters)
3. What bird works at a theater?
The stagecoach. (Starling)
4. What bird is like a colorful crying baby?
A bawl finch. (Bullfinch)
5. What bird sounds like a dog?
A barking bird. (Lark)
6. What bird likes telling stories?
A tale-teller bird. (Tailorbird)
7. What black and white bird likes the circus?
Acro-bat. (Acorn woodpecker)
8. What bird bounces up and down?
A joey. (Chickadee)
9. What bird wears a tuxedo?
A pen-guin. (Penguin)
10. What bird is always in a hurry?
A rush bird. (Heron)
How did you do with the backyard bird riddles? Let’s move on to some trickier riddles about birds from around the world.
Riddles about birds around the world
Expand your ornithology horizons with these riddles about birds from different habitats globally.
11. What bird has a chemical element in its name?
The cop-per pheasant. (Copper)
12. What wetland bird has a color in its name?
The purple swamp hen. (Purple)
13. What bird has half a fruit in its name?
The lemon dove. (Lemon)
14. What bird has a day of the week in its name?
The splendid fairywren. (Friday)
15. What bird has a musical instrument in its name?
The organbird. (Organ)
16. What bird has a famous garden in its name?
The Versailles helmetshrike. (Versailles)
17. What nocturnal bird has regret in its name?
The sorrowful owl. (Sorrowful)
18. What bird of prey is named after a novel?
The great black hawk. (Great Expectations by Charles Dickens)
19. What endangered bird shares its name with a breakfast food?
The kakapo. (Kapok)
20. What bird shares its name with a famous explorer?
Humboldt penguin. (Alexander von Humboldt)
How’s your global bird knowledge? Next up are some brain teasers about bird behavior.
Riddles about bird behavior
Let’s see if you can deduce the bird based on clues about how it behaves.
21. What bird likes to travel in groups?
The flocking bird. (Flamingo)
22. What bird likes to dance?
The ball-et bird. (Ballet ibis)
23. What birds steal shiny objects?
Thieves. (Thieving magpies)
24. What tropical bird builds colorful nests?
The art-ist bird. (Artist bowerbird)
25. What bird never flies in a straight line?
The staggering stilt. (Stilt)
26. What bird likes to sun itself?
A sun-bather. (Sunbittern)
27. What bird imitates the sounds around it?
A mock-ing bird. (Mockingbird)
28. What bird migrates the farthest each year?
The arctic turn. (Arctic tern)
29. What bird has a misleading name?
The lazy cuckoo. (Koel cuckoo)
30. What bird is a talented builder?
The archi-tect bird. (Architectural hornbill)
How observant are you of bird behavior? The next set of riddles focuses on bird anatomy.
Riddles about bird anatomy
These riddles rely on your knowledge of the unique physical characteristics of different birds.
31. What water bird has blue feet?
A blue-footed booby.
32. What bird has enormous eyes?
An owl.
33. What bird has a helmet on its head?
A hornbill.
34. What bird has a spectacular tail?
A peacock.
35. What bird has a distinctive crest?
A cockatoo.
36. What bird has a colorful pouch?
A greater bird-of-paradise.
37. What bird has very long legs?
A flamingo.
38. What bird has a massive wingspan?
An albatross.
39. What bird has a curvy beak?
A curlew.
40. What flightless bird has a funny red head?
A turkey.
Do you know your bird anatomy well? Now let’s look at some riddles about baby birds.
Riddles about baby birds
These riddles focus on the names for baby birds.
41. What’s a baby owl called?
An owlet.
42. What’s a baby eagle called?
An eaglet.
43. What’s a baby swan called?
A cygnet.
44. What’s a baby hawk called?
An eyas.
45. What’s a baby vulture called?
A chick.
46. What’s a baby emu called?
A joey.
47. What’s a baby goose called?
A gosling.
48. What’s a baby hummingbird called?
A chick.
49. What’s a baby pigeon called?
A squab.
50. What’s a baby penguin called?
A chick.
How did you do matching baby birds to their unique names? Next up are some bird riddles based on wordplay.
Bird riddles using wordplay
Stretch your mind with these bird riddles that rely on puns, rhymes, and other wordplay.
51. Which bird is always depressed?
A blue jay.
52. Which birds stick together with glue?
Two toucans.
53. What do you call a funny bird?
A laughing gull.
54. Which bird is always ready for bed?
The pajama cardinal.
55. What birds can balance on a clothesline?
Tight rope tyrants. (Tyrant flycatchers)
56. Why shouldn’t you play cards with birds?
Because they’re cheetahs! (Cheaters)
57. What birds love tea parties?
Chickadees!
58. What do birds take when they get colds?
Tweetment! (Treatment)
59. Why was the vulture hungry?
Because it hadn’t eaten in so lorn! (Long)
60. Which bird is the most fun at parties?
The rock ‘n’ roller! (Roller bird)
Did you catch the puns in those bird riddles? The next set covers birds in mythology and folklore.
Bird riddles about mythology and folklore
These riddles draw on legendary and symbolic birds.
61. Which bird rises from its ashes?
The phoenix.
62. Which bird do sailors associate with being lost at sea?
An albatross.
63. Which birds pulled the chariot of the Greek goddess of wisdom?
Owls.
64. Which bird brought babies in European folklore?
A stork.
65. Which bird is a symbol of peace?
A dove.
66. Which bird is an omen of death in mythology?
A raven.
67. Which birds were said to spread fires in Greek mythology?
Phoenixes.
68. Which bird represented the soul in ancient Egypt?
A ba.
69. Which bird is associated with thunder and lightning?
The thunderbird.
70. Which bird was sacred to the Greek goddess Hera?
The peacock.
Do you know the legendary birds of myth and folklore? The final set of riddles covers famous fictional birds from books, movies and cartoons.
Riddles about fictional birds
Let’s finish with some riddles about birds from popular culture.
71. Which fictional fowl says, “Nevermore”?
The Raven from Edgar Allen Poe’s poem.
72. Which Disney bird wants to fly south for the winter?
Dodo from Alice in Wonderland.
73. Which bright green cartoon bird likes to be mischievous?
Iago from Aladdin.
74. Which bird keeps an eye on everything on Sesame Street?
Big Bird.
75. Which bird was Woody Woodpecker’s girlfriend?
Winnie Woodpecker.
76. Which bird was the childhood companion of Voldemort?
Fawkes the phoenix from Harry Potter.
77. Which bird tries to steal the golden egg in Peter Pan?
Captain Hook’s parrot.
Hope you had fun with these bird brain teasers! Let us know in the comments if you have any other good riddles about our feathered friends.
Conclusion
Birds have captivated humankind for millenia with their beauty, behaviors and mysteries. Riddles engage our curiosity about birds and challenge us to think logically. In this article, we compiled 77 riddles about backyard birds, global species, bird behavior, anatomy, babies, wordplay, mythology and fiction. How many did you get right? Birds have so much to teach us if we pay attention – including how to approach life with cheerfulness, intelligence and freedom of spirit!
