Would you also accept "hawking" for hunting with a bird? From wikipedia: "The practice of hunting with a conditioned falconry bird is also called "hawking" or "gamehawking"". Knew exactly what was meant, but couldn't come up with the word you wanted.
Good Quizes, Approachable even if you are not interested in wild life. I like that the second was harder. I'd love to see another. Wildlife quizzes are hard to write I think you've struck a good balance
Yep. This appears to be true. From Wikipedia’s page on the House Sparrow: “The IUCN estimates for the global population runs up to nearly 1.4 billion individuals, second among all birds perhaps only to the red-billed quelea in abundance”. I would suggest changing the clue.