Great Kiskadee: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Parrots and Colourful Birds · day 6 of 7

Five facts

1. Many of its names copy its loud call. In Brazil people call it bem-te-vi, which means "I saw you well".
2. Now and then it plunges into shallow water to grab fish, tadpoles or snails. Very few perching birds go fishing like this.
3. It is not fussy. At bird feeders it happily tucks into bread, bananas, dog food and peanut butter mixed with seeds.
4. In 1957, two hundred kiskadees were taken to Bermuda to eat lizards. By 1976 there were about 60,000, yet the lizards were not controlled.
5. Both parents build a big domed nest with a door on the side. They will even steal building material from other nests.

The quiz

1. What does the Brazilian name bem-te-vi mean?

• Yellow belly
• Little king
• I saw you well (correct)
• Rain is coming

Its Brazilian name, copied from its call, means "I saw you well".

2. What makes the great kiskadee unusual among perching birds?

• It catches fish in shallow water (correct)
• It cannot fly
• It only drinks nectar
• It never eats insects

It sometimes dives for fish, tadpoles and snails, which few perching birds do.

3. Which of these does it eat at bird feeders?

• Cheese
• Bananas (correct)
• Chocolate
• Rice

It visits feeding stations for bread, dog food, bananas and peanut butter.

4. Why were great kiskadees brought to Bermuda?

• To eat mosquitoes
• To pollinate flowers
• To be sold as cage birds
• To control lizards (correct)

They were brought in to control lizards, but failed to do so.

5. What does a great kiskadee nest look like?

• A floating mat on water
• A burrow in the ground
• A dome with a side entrance (correct)
• A bare scrape on a cliff

Both parents build a large domed nest with a side entrance.

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