Bird Quiz compatibility chart
For each of the 8 birds, two that are easy to be with and one that may clash. A clash does not mean either side is wrong — they simply value different things.
Swallow
- Easy together Hummingbird The Hummingbird is also known for how fast it flaps, and some even make long migrations. You both think on the move, so things get decided quickly. When the Swallow talks a plan through out loud, the Hummingbird quietly turns it into something real.
- Easy together Sparrow Sparrows and swallows have both long raised their young right beside people's homes. For a Swallow coming back from a long journey, the Sparrow, who stays in town all year, is the one who'll tell you out loud everything that happened while you were away.
- May clash Condor The Condor waits for a rising current and soars high with barely a wingbeat. It's the opposite of the Swallow, who darts off at once and chatters away, both in when to move and in how to communicate. The Condor's replies can't keep up with the Swallow's pace, and to the Swallow, the Condor's silences feel very long.
Hummingbird
- Easy together Swallow The Swallow is another bird that makes long journeys in spring and fall. You both take off as soon as an idea strikes, so the moment a destination comes up, it's settled on the spot: “Let's go, then.”
- Easy together Woodpecker In North America, hummingbirds are said to sometimes come to sip the sap that seeps from small holes woodpeckers have drilled in trees. Being near the hard-working Woodpecker makes a good stopover for a Hummingbird on the move.
- May clash Black Kite The Black Kite waits for the wind, then circles wide and calls in a carrying voice. Its timing and its way of communicating are both the reverse of the Hummingbird's — flapping nonstop and moving without a word — so it's hard to read each other's plans.
Crane
- Easy together Oriental Stork The Oriental Stork, like the Crane, rides rising air on big wings to travel far. You both watch for the right moment to set off, so you fall into step easily. The Crane calls out and the Stork speaks through gestures — with different ways of communicating, it's easy to split up the roles.
- Easy together Black Kite The Black Kite also circles on rising air and calls in a voice that carries. The Crane travels far and the Kite stays under the same sky, but you share the same feel for waiting for the wind, and you understand each other well.
- May clash Woodpecker The Woodpecker drums on tree after tree in the same woods, sending signals by sound. The Crane waits for its moment, travels far and calls out — the reverse on both counts — so it's hard to follow each other's plans.
Oriental Stork
- Easy together Crane The Crane and the Oriental Stork are both big waterside birds that ride the wind on large wings to migrate. Because the Crane calls the flock together in a ringing voice, even the quiet Stork finds it easy to join the journey.
- Easy together Condor The Condor also has almost no voice and soars high on rising currents. You both speak through gestures and wait for the right moment, so silence between you never gets awkward.
- May clash Sparrow The Sparrow flits busily around the same town all year, chattering noisily with its neighbors. The Oriental Stork travels far and soars quietly on the wind, so you spend your time differently and communicate differently, and it's hard to find each other's rhythm.
Sparrow
- Easy together Swallow Every spring, the Swallow comes back to raise its young under the eaves of people's homes. For the Sparrow, who lives beside the same houses in the same town, it's the seasonal friend who flies in carrying stories from far away and tells them out loud.
- Easy together Woodpecker Sparrows sometimes nest in holes in trees. You both keep busy in the same place every day, so your daily rhythms match. With someone nearby who's been working away since early morning, the Sparrow's own errands go more smoothly too.
- May clash Oriental Stork The Oriental Stork waits for the wind and travels far without a sound. While the Sparrow is chatting with everyone and getting today's errands done, the Stork is watching for a wind that's days away. You sense urgency differently, which makes it hard to line up plans.
Woodpecker
- Easy together Hummingbird The Hummingbird is another bird that flaps without rest and shows rather than tells. You both keep busy and turn things into something real without a word, so you understand what the other is doing without explanations. And the Hummingbird, who knows faraway places, is a welcome spark for the Woodpecker who stays in the same woods.
- Easy together Sparrow The Sparrow keeps busy in the same place and chatters all the while. It keeps the conversation going with everyone around on behalf of the Woodpecker, who is quietly absorbed in its work.
- May clash Crane While the Crane is happily talking about the day it'll set off somewhere far away, the Woodpecker wants to dig today's share of the hole. One values waiting, the other values keeping at it, so when it comes to lining up plans you tend to miss each other.
Black Kite
- Easy together Crane The Crane, who arrives in winter, tells you about northern lands the Black Kite has never seen, in a ringing voice. You both ride the wind as you soar, so you also see eye to eye on how to pick the day to set off.
- Easy together Condor The Condor and the Black Kite both soar on rising air, and both play a part in cleaning up by eating the remains of dead animals. The Kite lets others know with its voice, and the Condor answers with gestures. A quiet partner who can wait for the same moment.
- May clash Hummingbird The Hummingbird flaps nonstop all the way to faraway places and keeps moving without a word. To the Black Kite, who waits for the wind under the same sky and speaks up, the Hummingbird's rapid pace seems restless — and to the Hummingbird, the Kite's waiting seems to go on forever.
Condor
- Easy together Oriental Stork The Oriental Stork also hardly calls, sharing its feelings by clattering its bill. You both wait for the wind to soar. For the Condor, who stays in the same mountains, the Stork's tales of far-off travels, told half in gestures, are something you could listen to in silence for hours.
- Easy together Black Kite Like you, the Black Kite rides the wind over familiar skies and waits for the moment without rushing. It's a partner you can ride the same rising air with, side by side, without being asked “Not yet?” while you wait.
- May clash Swallow The Swallow darts off to faraway places the moment an idea strikes, chattering all the way. While the Condor is still waiting for the wind, the Swallow has already left, come back, and is telling everyone about it. Your sense of when to move is so different that it's hard to plan anything together.
It is more fun once you know which one you are. 18 questions, about 3 minutes.
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