The Birds of London Reading Answer

Dec 9, 2022

The Birds of London Reading Answers contains four passages 13 different types of questions. Candidates will be shown various question types with clear instructions in this IELTS Section. Reading Answers comprises three types of questions: Matching heading, sentence completion, and Choose the correct option. For the Matching heading, candidates need to thoroughly go through each passage. For sentence completion, candidates need to skim the passage for keywords and understand the concept. To choose the correct option, candidates must read the IELTS Reading passage and understand the statement provided.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

The Birds of London Reading Answer

There are more than two hundred different species and sub-species of birds in the London area, ranging from the magpie to the greenfinch, but perhaps the most ubiquitous is the pigeon. It has been suggested that the swarms of feral pigeons are all descended from birds which escaped from dovecotes in the early medieval period; they found a natural habitat in the crannies and ledges of buildings as did their ancestors, the rock doves, amid the sea-girt cliffs. ‘They nest in small colonies,’ one observer has written, ‘usually high up and inaccessible’ above the streets of London as if the streets were indeed a sea. A man fell from the belfry of St Stephens Walbrook in 1277 while in quest of a pigeon’s nest, while the Bishop of London complained in 1385 of ‘malignant persons’ who threw stones at the pigeons resting in the city churches. So pigeons were already a familiar presence, even if they were not treated with the same indulgence as their more recent successors. A modicum of kindness to these creatures seems to have been first shown in the late nineteenth century, when they were fed oats rather than the customary stale bread.

From the end of the nineteenth century, wood pigeons also migrated into the city; they were quickly urbanised, increasing both in numbers and in tameness. ‘We have frequently seen them on die roofs of houses,’ wrote the author of Bird Life in London in 1893, apparently as much at home as any dovecote pigeon.’ Those who look up today may notice their ‘fly-lines’ in the sky. from Lincoln’s Inn Fields over Kingsway and Trafalgar Square to Battersea, with other lines to Victoria Park and to Kenwood. The air of London is filled with such ‘fly-lines’, and to trace the paths of the birds would be to envisage the city in an entirely different form; then it would seem linked and unified by thousands of thoroughfares and small paths of energy, each with its own history of use.

The sparrows move quickly in public places, and they arc now so much part of London that they have been adopted by the native population as the sparred; a friend was known to Cockneys as a ‘cocksparrer’ in tribute to a bird which is sweet and yet watchful, blessed with a dusky plumage similar to that of the London dust, a plucky little bird darting in and out of the city’s endless uproar. They are small birds which can lose body heat very quickly, so they are perfectly adapted to the ‘heat island’ of London. They will live in any small cranny or cavity, behind drainpipes or ventilation shafts, or in public statues, or holes in buildings; in that sense diet are perfectly suited to a London topography. An ornithologist who described the sparrow as peculiarly attached to man’ said it never now breeds at any distance from an occupied building’. This sociability, bred upon the fondness of the Londoner, is manifest in many ways. One naturalist, W.H. Hudson, has described how any stranger in a green space or public garden will soon find that ‘several sparrows are keeping him company … watching his every movement, and if he sits down on a chair or a bench several of them will come close to him, and hop this way and that before him, uttering a little plaintive note of interrogation — Have you got nothing for us? They have also been described as die urchins of the streets — ‘thievish, self-assertive and pugnacious’ — a condition which again may merit the attention and admiration of native Londoners. Remarkably attached to their surroundings, they rarely create ‘fly-lines’ across the city; where they are born, like other Londoners, they stay.

There are some birds, such as the robin and the chaffinch, which are less approachable and trustful in the city than in the country. Other species, such as the mallard, grow increasingly shyer as they leave London. There has been a severe diminution of the number of sparrows, while blackbirds are more plentiful. Swans and ducks have also increased in number. Some species, however, have all but vanished. The rooks of London are, perhaps, the most notable of the disappeared, their rookeries destroyed by building work or by tree-felling. Areas of London were continuously inhabited by rooks for many hundreds of years. The burial ground of St Deinstalls in the East and the college garden of the Ecclesiastical Court in Doctors’ Commons, the turrets of the Tower of London and the gardens of Grays Inn, were once such localities. There was a rookery in the Inner Temple dating from at least 1666, mentioned by Oliver Goldsmith in 1774. Rooks nested on Bow Church and on St Olave’s. They were venerable London birds, preferring to cluster around ancient churches and the like as if they were their local guardians. Yet, in the words of the nineteenth-century song, ‘Now the old rooks have lost their places’. There was a grove in Kensington Gardens devoted to the rooks; it contained some seven hundred trees forming a piece of wild nature, a matter of delight and astonishment to those who walked among them and listened to the endless cawing that blotted out the city’s noise. But the trees were torn down in 1880. The rooks have never returned.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation
Questions 1-4
Answer the questions below using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet.
(Guide: Candidates need to fill the blanks with no more than three words taken from the passage )

Question. 1 What Kind of Birds are the London Pigeons Descended from ?

Answer: Rockdoves
Supporting Sentence: It has been suggested that the swarms of feral pigeons are all descended from birds which escaped from dovecotes in the early medieval period; they found a natural habitat in the crannies and ledges of buildings as did their ancestors, the rock doves, amid the sea-girt cliffs.
Keywords: Birds, Pigeons, Descended, Ancestors, rock doves
Keywords Location: Paragraph 1, Lines 5-6, 9
Explanation: We can clearly see that it is stating that they found a natural habitat in the crevices and ledges of buildings, just as did their ancestors, the Rock Doves, as it is mentioned in the Paragraph 1, Lines 4–9. Therefore, it is obvious that the London Pigeons are related to Rock Doves.

Question 2. What were pigeons given to eat before their attitude towards them changed?

Answer: Stale Bread
Supporting Sentence: So pigeons were already a familiar presence, even if they were not treated with the same indulgence as their more recent successors. A modicum of kindness to these creatures seems to have been first shown in the late nineteenth century when they were fed oats rather than the customary stale bread.
Keywords: modicum, indulgence, oats, stale bread
Keywords Location: paragraph 2, lines 10-14
Explanation: Here, we can see that it says "when they were fed oats rather than the usual stale bread" in para 2, lines 10–14. Therefore, it makes sense that pigeons were fed stale bread before their behavior toward them changed.

Question. 3 What are the routes taken by wood pigeons known as?

Answer: Fly Lines
Supporting Sentence: Those who look up today may notice their ‘fly-lines’ in the sky from Lincoln’s Inn Fields over Kingsway and Trafalgar Square to Battersea, with other lines to Victoria Park and to Kenwood.
Keywords: fly-lines, Inn Fields, Kingsway, Trafalgar Square, Battersea
Keyword Location: paragraph 3, lines 7-10
Explanation: People who glance up today might observe their "fly-lines" in the sky, according to paragraph 3, line 7. They take to the air on fly-lines. According to this, fly-lines are the routes that wood pigeons use to fly from one location to another.

Question. 4 What TWO activities have contributed to the drastic reduction in the number of rooks?

Answer: Building Work, Tree Felling
Supporting Sentence: The rooks of London are, perhaps, the most notable of the disappeared, their rookeries destroyed by building work or by tree-felling.
Keywords: Notable, Rookeries, Building work, Tree-felling
Keywords Location: Paragraph 7, lines 9-11
Explanation: These lines describe that fewer Rookeries are occurring as a result of tree cutting and construction work. Building work as well as tree-felling are destroying them. Many Rooks vanished.

Questions 5 to 9:
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-9 on your answer sheet.

5 ……………………………. is derived from the bird’s name suited to the atmosphere of London because of a tendency to rapidly 6 …………………….. always likely to reproduce close to 7 ………………………… characteristic noted: 8 ………………………… because of the attitude of people in London make a sound that seems to be a kind of 9…………………………

(Guide: Candidates need to read the passage, then fill the blanks with not more than three words to complete the sentence )

Question. 5

Answer: Friend
Supporting Sentence: a friend was known to Cockneys as a ‘cock sparrer’ in tribute to a bird which is sweet and yet watchful, blessed with a dusky plumage similar to that of the London dust, a plucky little bird darting in and out of the city’s endless uproar.
Keywords: Friend, Cockneys, Dusky Plumage, Plucky
Keywords Location: Paragraph 3, lines 2 - 4
Explanation: The supporting sentences demonstrate that the answer, Friend, was correctly chosen. According to the supporting clause, a friend was given the nickname "cock sparrer" in honor of a kind and watchful bird.

Question. 6

Answer: Lose Body Heat
Supporting Sentence: They are small birds which can lose body heat very quickly, so they are perfectly adapted to the ‘heat island’ of London.
Keywords: Heat Island, Body Heat, Small Birds
Keywords Location: Paragraph 5, Lines 1 - 3
Explanation: The supporting sentence explains why the chosen answer choice, "Lose Body Heat," is the right one. Small birds lose body heat very quickly, according to the supporting clause. The birds can therefore adapt to London's heat island.

Question 7

Answer: An Occupied Building
Supporting Sentence: An ornithologist who described the sparrow as peculiarly attached to man’ said it never now breeds at any distance from an occupied building’. This sociability, bred upon the fondness of the Londoner, is manifest in many ways.
Keywords: Bred, Londoner, Occupied Building
Keywords Location: Paragraph 3, Lines 7 -9
Explanation: The chosen response, "An Occupied Building," is the right one. According to the supporting clause, an ornithologist has investigated and reported the sparrow as being strangely connected to the man. Additionally, "at whatever distance from an occupied building," it never breeds.

Question 8

Answer: Sociability
Supporting Sentence: This sociability, bred upon the fondness of the Londoner, is manifest in many ways.
Keywords: Sociability, Bred, Londoner, Manifest
Keywords Location: Paragraph 5, Lines 9 -11
Explanation: The chosen supporting sentence supports the idea that the answer choice for "sociability" is the right one. In many ways, the sociability that is "bred upon the fondness of the Londoner" that the supporting sentence mentions is evident.

Question 9

Answer: Interrogation
Supporting Sentence: watching his every movement, and if he sits down on a chair or a bench several of them will come close to him, and hop this way and that before him, uttering a little plaintive note of interrogation , Have you got nothing for us?
Keywords: Bench, Uttering, Plaintive, Interrogation
Keywords Location: Paragraph 6, lines 5 - 9
Explanation: The auxiliary sentence discusses interrogation. The supporting sentences substantiate the correct answer choice.

Question 10-13:
Classify the following as being stated of

pigeons
wood pigeons
sparrows
chaffinches
blackbirds
rooks

Write the correct letter A-F in boxes 10-13 on your answer sheet.
(Guide: Candidates need to select the right word from the list of A to F and put them as answers to questions 10 to 13 )

Question. 10 They are happier with people when they are in rural areas.

Answer: Chaffinches
Supporting Sentence: There are some birds, such as the robin and the chaffinch, which are less approachable and trustful in the city than in the country.
Keywords: Robin, Chaffinch, trustful, city
Keyword Location: Paragraph 7, lines 1 -3
Explanation: According to lines 7 and 8, dealing with chaffinches in the city is not any simpler than dealing with them in the country. And it appears they are content with residents of rural areas.

Question. 11 They rapidly became comfortable being with People.

Answer: Wood Pigeons
Supporting Sentence: Woodpigeons also migrated into the city; they were quickly urbanised, increasing both in numbers and in tameness.
Keywords: Wood Pigeons, Migrated, Numbers Tameness
Keywords Location: Paragraph 3, lines 2-4
Explanation: The opening sentences of the paragraph indicate that wood pigeons moved into the city along with people and grew accustomed to interacting with them. They made rapid, extensive settlements.

Question. 12 They used to congregate particularly at old buildings.

Answer: Rooks
Supporting Sentence: Rooks nested on Bow Church and on St Olave’s. They were venerable London birds, preferring to cluster around ancient churches and the like as if they were their local guardians.
Keywords: cluster, churches, venerable, Birds
Keywords Location: Paragraph 8, lines 3-7
Explanation:Here, it is claimed that rooks congregated at historic churches. The old structures in this area are called Ancient Churches. Crowds of rooks congregate around Bow Church as they build their nest.

Question. 13 They used to be attacked by people.

Answer: Pigeons
Supporting Sentence: A man fell from the belfry of St Stephen's Walbrook in 1277 while in quest of a pigeon’s nest, while the Bishop of London complained in 1385 of ‘malignant persons’ who threw stones at the pigeons
Keywords: Pigeons, Bishop, Malignant, Stones
Keywords Location: Paragraph 1, lines 4-8
Explanation: In this passage, the author claims that the bishop of London protested about certain bad citizens who flung stones at pigeons as they rested on churches. We might therefore conclude that they were accustomed to societal assault.