---
title: Birds of prey and owls — how Mova does on the tests · Biology
description: Lesson 34 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 7 of 12 tests right, exam 0 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/) / 34

# Birds of prey and owls

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**Tests:** 7 of 12 right · **Exam:** 0 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 9 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 34 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/).

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### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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In a cartoon an owl spins its head round and round like a wheel. What is true?

- **1.** It cannot turn its head at all — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **2.** It can spin its head forever — score 4
- **3.** It can take its head off and put it back on — no support
- **4.** It can turn about three quarters of a circle, not all the way round — **✓ the right answer** · score 0

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 5: «Pictures get them wrong: an owl cannot turn its head all the way round, owls are not the cleverest birds, and a bald eagle is not bald at all.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «head» (+4); the same doer «owl» (+2); the same action «turn» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 0. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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A picture book shows a wise old owl with glasses who solves every riddle. Which birds really do better at puzzles?

- **1.** Pigeons and farm ducks — no support
- **2.** Chickens and geese — no support
- **3.** Owls are the best at puzzles — **← Mova's choice** · score 12
- **4.** Crows and parrots — **✓ the right answer** · score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 12, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 6: «Motorway verges are rarely mown, so they are full of voles; a kestrel flaps into the wind at the wind's own speed and keeps its head still to watch for voles,…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «owls» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 4, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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my brother reckons bald eagles r bald like grandad. are they?

- **1.** Only the females are bald — no support
- **2.** No, they have white feathers on the head; balde meant white — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12
- **3.** Yes, their heads have bare skin — no support
- **4.** Yes, they lose all their feathers when they get old, like grandad's hair — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 12, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 14: «The bald eagle has a white-feathered head; its name comes from an old word, balde, meaning white, and young bald eagles are brown all over until about five yea…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mean» (+5); the same doer «old word» (+5); the same property (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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You see a young bald eagle that is brown all over. Why no white head?

- **1.** It is ill and losing colour — no support
- **2.** It has rolled in mud — no support
- **3.** Young bald eagles get the white head at about five years old — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **4.** It is a different kind of eagle that lives in the mountains — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 14: «The bald eagle has a white-feathered head; its name comes from an old word, balde, meaning white, and young bald eagles are brown all over until about five yea…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «bald eagle» (+1); the same thing acted on «feathered head» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★ · right ✓ {#t5}

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What would happen if a barn owl's flight were as noisy as a pigeon's?

- **1.** Mice would hear it coming, and it would hear them less well — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It would fly faster — no support
- **3.** Nothing, mice are deaf — no support
- **4.** It would catch more mice — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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A barn owl catches a vole under snow it cannot see. How?

- **1.** By seeing the heat of its body through the snow, like a camera — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** By smell through the snow — no support
- **3.** By guessing and digging everywhere — no support
- **4.** By sound, with ears at different heights telling it exactly where — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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Why do vultures circle over the savannah in the middle of a hot day, not at dawn?

- **1.** Dead animals only ever appear at noon, when the sun is high — no support
- **2.** The hot ground makes the rising air they need — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** They are hiding from the sun — score 4
- **4.** They cannot see in the morning — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 34, line 13: «Vultures ride thermals, columns of warm air rising from ground heated by the sun, so they soar most in the hot middle of the day, and glide for hours looking f…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «vultures» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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oi, why does my teacher make us wash hands after the owl pellet lesson?

- **1.** Pellets hold old bones and fur, so washing is basic hygiene — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Pellets are made of owl poo — no support
- **3.** Owls put magic in their pellets — no support
- **4.** Owl pellets are poisonous to touch, even for a moment, and burn the skin — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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A falconer's Harris's hawk lands on her glove. Why is the glove thick leather?

- **1.** To keep the hawk warm — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** To make the hawk look bigger — no support
- **3.** Because hawks like the smell of leather — no support
- **4.** To protect her hand from the hawk's sharp talons — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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What would happen if a peregrine dived with its wings spread wide open?

- **1.** It would go even faster — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** It would fly backwards — no support
- **3.** The air would slow it down a lot — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** It would land on the cathedral — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 14, line 8: «Peregrine falcons nest on tall buildings like the cliffs they use in the wild and hunt city pigeons; a diving peregrine can go faster than 300 kilometres per h…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «diving peregrine» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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In a game, an eagle grabs a fish from a lake with its beak while flying. Which real bird is built to grab fish, and how?

- **1.** The barn owl, with its beak only — no support
- **2.** The osprey, diving feet first and gripping with its toes — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10
- **3.** The vulture, with its strong stomach and bald head — no support
- **4.** The kestrel, with its tail — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 2: «Each one has its own trick: a kestrel hangs over a motorway verge with its head perfectly still, a peregrine drops from a cathedral tower faster than any other…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «dive» (+4); the same doer «osprey» (+3); the same property (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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Why is the osprey's fish turned head forward in its feet?

- **1.** So the fish does not bite the osprey — no support
- **2.** So it slips through the air like a torpedo — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **3.** So the fish can see where they are both going on the way to the nest — no support
- **4.** So the fish can breathe — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 34, line 15: «An osprey dives feet first and grips slippery fish with spiky toe pads and an outer toe that swings back, two toes in front and two behind, and carries the fis…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «slip» (+2); the same place «air» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/t12/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the principal reason for which an owl rotates its head rather than its eyes.

- **1.** The neck possesses no bones — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The eyes are sensitive to rotation — no support
- **3.** The eyes are tubular and fixed within the skull — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The eyes are entirely absent in the nocturnal species — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the owl pellet?

- **1.** It is an unfertilised egg — **← Mova's choice** · score 13
- **2.** It is the owl's ordinary dropping — score 13
- **3.** It is a structure of twigs and moss built by the owl for nesting in the spring — score 13
- **4.** It comprises the indigestible fur and bones regurgitated by the owl — **✓ the right answer** · score 11

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 13, tied with another option at 13 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 34, line 4: «Owls swallow mice whole and cough up the fur and bones as a pellet, which is why a class can rebuild a whole vole skeleton with tweezers.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «pellet» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 11. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Ascertain the maximal velocity attained by the peregrine falcon in its stoop.

- **1.** Approximately sixty kilometres per hour — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Approximately three thousand kilometres per hour — no support
- **3.** Approximately thirty kilometres per hour — no support
- **4.** In excess of three hundred kilometres per hour — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the designation «bald eagle».

- **1.** It denotes the absence of feathers upon the head — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It denotes baldness acquired in old age — no support
- **3.** It refers to the eagle's bare feet — no support
- **4.** It derives from an archaic word signifying white — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/34-birds-of-prey-and-owls/e4/)

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- ← previous: [33. Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/)
- next →: [35. Birds of every kind: penguins, ostriches, parrot…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/35-birds-of-every-kind/)
- ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/)