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The pelican in Dublin last week. Cathy Courtney

Quiz: How much do you know about pelicans?

Squawk, squawk, or whatever noise pelicans make.
10.01pm, 22 Aug 2021
19.8k
19

IF WALLY THE Walrus, wasn’t enough, there’s also a pelican on the loose.

The large bird escaped from Fota Wildlife Park recently and has made its way as far as Dublin.

It doesn’t have a name yet, unfortunately. Peter, perhaps? That’s beside the point. Let’s get on with the quiz.

What is a pelican?
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A family saloon version of a heron
A large gregarious waterbird with a long bill

Any waterfowl that feeds only on smaller birds
I don't care
What's the average wingspan of a great white pelican?
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Three metres
Two metres

One metre
Two wings wide
As mentioned above, this particular type of pelican is missing from Fota Wildlife Park. What's the current tactic to get him to return to the park?
Cathy Courtney
Wait. He'll come back when he's hungry.
Set up a decoy female pelican to lure him into a trap (he hasn't spotted it yet but pelicans generally like to take it slow anyway).

Sedate him and transport him back to Cork - they are currently waiting on the appropriate type of tranquillizer gun to arrive from a specialist in Europe.
Ask him nicely.
Why did he leave the park in the first place?
Alamy
He didn't even want to be around anymore.
He fell out with another pelican.

To get to the other side.
How is anyone supposed to know the thought process behind this bird's own decisions?
What is this pelican doing?
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I don't want to know.
A mating ritual.

Expelling uneaten food from its bill.
Yawning.
This Pelican is called Nigel, apparently. What film does he appear in?
The Pelican
A Bug's Life

Up
Finding Nemo
What is Pelican Books?
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The non-fiction imprint of Penguin Books.
The national publishing agency (NPA) of the Irish Free State.

A company that writes books for birds even though birds can't even read! Waste of time.
An arm of Pengiun Books that produces titles exclusively to be donated to schools in developing countries.
Pelican is a 2011 single by which band?
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Bombay Bicycle Club
Vampire Weekend

The Maccabees
Best Coast
What is the name of the protagonist in Roald Dahl's 1985 novel The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me?
Billy
James

Matilda
Nicky Ryan
Who wrote The Pelican Chorus? A reminder: "Ploffskin, Pluffskin, Pelican jee! / We think no Birds so happy as we! / Plumpskin, Ploshkin, Pelican jill! / We think so then, and we thought so still!"
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Edward Lear
William Shakespeare

Spike Milligan
Dr Seuss
Pelicans have a throat pouch and they're not at all self-conscious about it. What do they use it for?
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Carrying their young.
Storing food for later.

Scooping up prey.
All of the above.
Do you wish you had a throat pouch to scoop up prey with?
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Yes
No
Answer all the questions to see your result!
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You scored out of !
You are this vacant-eyed pelican
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
You are the pelican on the left
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
You are this pelican, who has seen some awful things in his life
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
You are one of these pelicans, I don't know which one sorry
Share your result:
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You scored out of !
You are that poor, unfortunate fish
Share your result:

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Author
Nicky Ryan
nicky@thejournal.ie
@NickyRyan_
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