Bringing Birds Back: teacher key

Bearded Vultures, grade 12 edition, written for 12th grade and up. Young zoo-bred bearded vultures were released in the Alps after the species vanished from them. The record gives dated counts for releases, wild-hatched chicks and the birds living today.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Which family do scientists place the bearded vulture in?
   • Falconidae
   • Accipitridae (answer)
   • Strigidae
2. In 1978, what did experts from five countries decide to use for the Alps project?
   • Birds taken from the wild
   • Young bearded vultures from zoos (answer)
   • Eggs from the Himalayas
3. As of November 2026, about what share of released bearded vultures survive their first year?
   • 88 percent (answer)
   • 18 percent
   • 98 percent
4. When did a wild-hatched chick first fly in Haute-Savoie?
   • In 1986
   • In 1991
   • In 1997 (answer)
5. Why are more releases needed in the Alps?
   • The wild Alpine birds have little genetic diversity (answer)
   • The birds fly away from the Alps
   • The nests are too small
6. In the text, what does captivity mean?
   • Life in zoos or other care (answer)
   • A high cliff
   • A kind of flight

Words

• Accipitridae: eagle family
• genetic: about inherited traits
• inbreeding: mating of relatives
• moulted: shed
• captivity: life in zoos