PrepTest 106, Section 3, Question 3
Birds startled by potential predators generally try to(38 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(16 more words not shown)
- APredator attacks are(22 more words not shown)
- BThe bird feeders(13 more words not shown)
- CLarge birds are(9 more words not shown)
- DMost of the(20 more words not shown)
- EThe windowpanes of(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe the birds think the window is vegetation.
A bird trying to escape a predator should head toward a tree or bush, yet these birds fly away from the garden plants and hit the house. If a window reflects a tree, the bird could head toward what looks like cover and strike the glass instead. The attempt to hide would make sense from the bird's point of view, even though it ends badly.
What we’re looking for
That's my prediction for the explanation question: the windows show reflections of the vegetation. We need to explain the direction the startled birds take, not merely why they become startled.
Working the answers
- A
This compares the likelihood of an attack at two kinds of feeders. Our puzzle concerns what birds do once startled. Equal attack rates wouldn't explain why an escaping bird heads toward a window rather than the actual vegetation.
- B
A greater distance from the feeder to the house doesn't explain the flight toward the glass. Even if some birds must travel farther to reach a window, we still need to know why they go that way. Distance supplies no reason for choosing what appears to be the wrong destination.
- C
This says birds of different sizes share the behavior. That doesn't tell us why either group does it. Showing that the puzzle affects large birds as well as small birds leaves the same puzzle in place.
- D
Changing the source of the startle doesn't explain the particular route of escape. Why would a loud noise send a bird into a window rather than nearby cover? D gives no connection between the noise and that destination. It also doesn't explain the birds described as startled by potential predators.
- ECorrect
The windows clearly reflect the surrounding vegetation, so a bird looking for cover could perceive the reflection as a place to hide. It flies toward the apparent tree or bush and hits the pane instead.
The same urge to seek vegetation can therefore explain both the ordinary escape behavior and these collisions. We don't need to assume the birds deliberately choose a dangerous surface or abandon their usual response to danger.
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