Scarecrow Riddles: 30 Fall Riddles with Answers on Riddlepedia
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Scarecrow Riddles: 30 Fall Riddles with Answers

30 riddles · tap Hint or Answer to reveal

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When the corn is tall and the leaves start to turn, scarecrows appear in fields, on porches and at every fall festival. These 30 scarecrow riddles are about them and everything around them: crows, cornfields, straw, pumpkins and the busy weeks of harvest.

They run from easy riddles that preschoolers can guess to tricky ones that will stump the grown-ups at the hayride. Every riddle has a hint, so nobody is left standing in the field alone.

Easy Scarecrow Riddles for Kids

I have a hat but no hair, a shirt but no heart, and my arms are stretched out all day, yet they never get tired. What am I?

Hint
Birds are supposed to be afraid of me.
Answer
A scarecrow

I’m the dry, hollow stalks left over after the grain is harvested. Scarecrows are stuffed with me, and farm animals sleep on me. What am I?

Hint
You can sip a drink through something with the same name.
Answer
Straw

I’m big, round and orange, and sometimes I sit on a scarecrow’s shoulders as his head. What am I?

Hint
I also make a very good pie.
Answer
A pumpkin

I grow in long rows, taller than the farmer. Each of my cobs is wrapped in green husks with silky hair at the top, and a scarecrow guards me from hungry birds. What am I?

Hint
You can butter me or pop me.
Answer
Corn

I built the scarecrow, gave him my old shirt and hat, and stood him up in my field. Who am I?

Hint
I also drive the tractor and milk the cows.
Answer
The farmer

I’m a big bundle of dried grass, round or square, stacked in the barn to feed the animals all winter. What am I?

Hint
At fall festivals, people sit on me for a ride.
Answer
A hay bale

In autumn, I turn red, orange and gold, then twirl down to the ground and wait for you to jump in my pile. What am I?

Hint
You need a rake to gather me up.
Answer
Leaves

Two of me make a scarecrow’s eyes, and a row of me holds his shirt closed. What am I?

Hint
I’m small and round with holes in the middle for thread.
Answer
Buttons

I’m big and loud, with huge wheels at the back, and I pull the plow across the farmer’s field. What am I?

Hint
I’m often painted green or red.
Answer
A tractor

Why did the scarecrow win a prize?

Hint
Where does a scarecrow spend all his time?
Answer
Because he was outstanding in his field.

Medium Scarecrow Riddles

Why doesn’t the scarecrow ever want dessert?

Hint
What’s inside his shirt?
Answer
Because he’s already stuffed.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), a scarecrow joins Dorothy to ask the Wizard for a brain. Her next new friend is made of metal. What does he want from the Wizard?

Hint
He’s afraid he can’t love anyone without one.
Answer
A heart. He’s the Tin Woodman.

A group of cows is a herd, and a group of geese is a gaggle. What is a group of crows called?

Hint
The real name sounds spooky, perfect for Halloween.
Answer
A murder of crows

Crows are clever birds. Why do smart farmers move their scarecrows to a new spot every few days?

Hint
What happens when you see the same thing every day?
Answer
So the crows don’t get used to the scarecrow and learn that it’s harmless.

I’m a puzzle cut into a cornfield. You walk in, take lots of wrong turns, and try to find your way out again. What am I?

Hint
I’m made of paths, dead ends and very tall walls of green.
Answer
A corn maze

I have a long wooden handle and a few long, sharp prongs, and farmers use me to toss hay. Many scarecrows hold one of me. What am I?

Hint
I look like a giant fork.
Answer
A pitchfork

I’m the rough brown cloth used for potato sacks, and lots of scarecrows have faces sewn from me. What am I?

Hint
In Britain, I’m usually called hessian.
Answer
Burlap

On this day in autumn, day and night are almost exactly the same length, and fall officially begins. What is it called?

Hint
The name comes from Latin words for “equal night”.
Answer
The autumnal equinox

I spin on the barn roof, often with a metal rooster on top. I don’t tell the time, but I tell you which way the wind blows. What am I?

Hint
My name has “weather” in it.
Answer
A weathervane

I’m a tall yellow flower. When I’m young, I turn to follow the sun across the sky, and when I’m grown, birds pick the seeds from my big brown face. What am I?

Hint
My seeds are a salty snack at baseball games.
Answer
A sunflower

I’m the full moon closest to the start of autumn. Long ago, my bright light helped farmers keep bringing in their crops after sunset. What am I called?

Hint
I’m named after the busiest time of year on a farm.
Answer
The harvest moon

Tricky Scarecrow Riddles for Grown-Ups

Take away my first letter and corn grows in me. Take away my first two letters and you’ll say me if I peck you. What am I?

Hint
Look closely at the word “scarecrow”.
Answer
A crow (crow, row, ow)

On a sunny day, a scarecrow’s shadow points west. Is it morning or evening?

Hint
Where does the sun rise?
Answer
Morning. The sun rises in the east, so shadows point west.

Five crows sit on a fence. The farmer claps his hands to scare one of them away. How many crows are left on the fence?

Hint
Think about what a loud clap does to birds.
Answer
None. The clap scares all of them away.

Two scarecrows stand in a field. One faces north and the other faces south, yet they can see each other without turning their heads. How?

Hint
Don’t assume they are standing back to back.
Answer
They are facing each other.

In Japanese mythology, the scarecrow god Kuebiko can’t walk a single step, yet he is the god of knowledge who knows everything in the world. Why does that make sense?

Hint
What does a scarecrow do all day, every day?
Answer
Because he stands in the field all day and watches everything that passes by.

A farmer needs 2 buttons for the eyes and 5 buttons for the shirt of each scarecrow. He has 30 buttons. How many complete scarecrows can he make?

Hint
First work out how many buttons one scarecrow needs.
Answer
4 scarecrows, with 2 buttons left over. Each one needs 7.

Which is heavier: a pound of straw or a pound of pumpkins?

Hint
Read the question slowly.
Answer
Neither. They both weigh one pound.

At harvest time, a farmer picks 3 pumpkins on Monday, and every day after that he picks twice as many as the day before. On which day does he pick 48 pumpkins?

Hint
Write the days in a row and keep doubling.
Answer
Friday. He picks 3, 6, 12, 24 and then 48.

In autumn, leaves turn yellow and orange. But nobody paints them in the fall. Where were those colors all summer?

Hint
Something green was covering them up.
Answer
They were in the leaf all along, hidden under green chlorophyll. When the tree stops making chlorophyll in the fall, the green fades and the other colors show.

Make It a Game

  • Stuff the scarecrow: draw a scarecrow outline on a big sheet of paper. Every correct answer adds a piece (a hat, a button, a straw hand) until the scarecrow is finished.
  • Hayride riddles: bring the riddles on a hayride or a walk through a corn maze and read one at every turn.
  • Classroom fall countdown: read one easy riddle each morning in October, then save the tricky riddles for the class Halloween party.

Want more fall fun? Try our fall riddles, our farm riddles or our pumpkin riddles.