48 Scarecrow Riddles With Answers (Easy to Tricky + Hints)
Quick answer: A classic scarecrow riddle is “I wear a hat and an old shirt, but I have no hair and no heartbeat. I stand in the field all day to keep the birds away. What am I?” The answer is a scarecrow. Below are 48 scarecrow riddles with answers and hints, sorted from easy to hard, plus funny scarecrow jokes, a printable scoring sheet and a few true facts about where scarecrows come from.
Scarecrows show up everywhere in fall, from cornfields to front porches and school hallways. That makes them a perfect riddle topic for classroom parties, harvest festivals and Thanksgiving week. Each riddle below has a difficulty label, a hint for when kids get stuck and the answer right underneath. If you want more autumn brain teasers after this, try our fall riddles for kids.
Key takeaways
- There are 48 riddles here: 15 easy, 12 funny joke-style, 11 medium and 10 tricky brain teasers.
- Every riddle has an answer, and the non-joke riddles also have a hint, so kids can keep guessing without peeking.
- People have used bird-scaring figures for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptian farmers used nets, and Japanese farmers made a human-shaped scarecrow called a kakashi (National Inventors Hall of Fame).
- Use the printable scoring sheet to turn the list into a game: 1 point for easy, 2 for medium and 3 for tricky riddles.
Contents
- Easy Scarecrow Riddles for Kids (1–15)
- Funny Scarecrow Riddles (Joke Style) (16–27)
- Medium Fall Farm Riddles: Scarecrow Edition (28–38)
- Tricky Scarecrow Riddles and Brain Teasers (39–48)
- Printable scarecrow riddle scoring sheet
- True scarecrow facts
- FAQ
Easy Scarecrow Riddles for Kids (1–15)
Difficulty: Easy. Short clues with one clear answer. These work for preschool, kindergarten and early elementary kids.
- I wear a hat and an old shirt, but I have no hair and no heartbeat. I stand in the field all day to keep the birds away. What am I?
Hint: Crows are supposed to be afraid of me.
Answer: A scarecrow - I'm yellow, dry and a little scratchy, and I'm stuffed inside the scarecrow's shirt and sleeves. What am I?
Hint: You can also sip juice through something with my name.
Answer: Straw - I'm a big black bird who says "caw, caw." The scarecrow is supposed to scare me away, but I'm pretty smart. What am I?
Hint: My name is hiding inside the word scarecrow.
Answer: A crow - I grow tall in long rows, wrapped in green husks with yellow kernels inside. The scarecrow guards me. What am I?
Hint: You can pop me at the movies.
Answer: Corn - I sit on top of the scarecrow's head and keep the sun off his painted face. What am I?
Hint: Cowboys and farmers wear me too.
Answer: A hat (often a straw hat) - I'm orange and round, and on many porches I sit right next to the scarecrow. You can carve a face into me. What am I?
Hint: I turn into a jack-o'-lantern on Halloween.
Answer: A pumpkin - The scarecrow holds me out wide all day long, but I never get tired. What am I?
Hint: He has two of them, one on each side.
Answer: His arms - I'm a big sack made of rough brown cloth. Stuff me with straw, draw a face on me, and I become a scarecrow's head. What am I?
Hint: Potatoes are often shipped in me.
Answer: A burlap sack - I have a long handle and lots of teeth, but I never bite. I gather up the leaves around the scarecrow's feet. What am I?
Hint: You use me before you jump in a leaf pile.
Answer: A rake - I'm the season when leaves turn orange, pumpkins get picked and scarecrows show up on front porches. What am I?
Hint: I have two names, and one of them is something leaves do.
Answer: Fall (autumn) - I plant the seeds, drive the tractor and build the scarecrow to protect my crops. Who am I?
Hint: I work on a farm.
Answer: A farmer - I have a hat, a shirt and pants, but I never get dressed by myself. What am I?
Hint: Someone stuffed me and stood me up in a field.
Answer: A scarecrow - I'm a tall yellow flower with a big brown face full of seeds. Birds love my seeds, so the scarecrow has to watch me too. What am I?
Hint: My name has the word sun in it.
Answer: A sunflower - I have five fingers but no bones. Stuff me with straw and I become a scarecrow's hand. What am I?
Hint: You wear me in the garden or when it's cold.
Answer: A glove - I'm stuffed but I never eat, I'm dressed but I never shop, and I guard the field but I never fight. What am I?
Hint: I stand on a wooden pole.
Answer: A scarecrow
Got a pumpkin fan at home? Our pumpkin riddles use the same kind of short, easy clues.
Funny Scarecrow Riddles (Joke Style) (16–27)
Difficulty: Easy. These are riddle-jokes with a pun for a punchline. Read the question, let everyone guess, then deliver the answer with a straight face.
- Why did the scarecrow win an award?
Answer: Because he was outstanding in his field. - Why did the scarecrow say no to dessert?
Answer: He was already stuffed. - What do you call a scarecrow who tells jokes?
Answer: A corn-edian. - What is a scarecrow's favorite fruit?
Answer: Straw-berries. - What kind of music do scarecrows like?
Answer: Hay-vy metal. - Why is the scarecrow such a good listener?
Answer: He's surrounded by ears. Corn ears! - Why won't the scarecrow ever get into a fight?
Answer: He doesn't have the guts. He's only got straw. - How do you fix a scarecrow with a hole in his pants?
Answer: Use a pumpkin patch. - Why did the scarecrow go to school?
Answer: He heard it was the best place to get a brain. - Why do scarecrows make great friends?
Answer: They will always stand by you. - What did the crow say when it saw the scarecrow's new outfit?
Answer: "Caw-some!" - Why did the scarecrow keep his job for so many years?
Answer: Because he never left his post.
Medium Fall Farm Riddles: Scarecrow Edition (28–38)
Difficulty: Medium. The scarecrow’s whole world is in these riddles: the barn, the corn maze, the hayride and the harvest. Great for ages 7 to 10.
- I'm a puzzle with walls that grow from seeds. You walk in, take wrong turns and try to find your way out. What am I?
Hint: My walls are green and very tall in September.
Answer: A corn maze - Sit on me and a tractor will pull you around the farm. I'm bumpy, scratchy and lots of fun in October. What am I?
Hint: My name starts with something horses eat.
Answer: A hayride - I have an eye but I can't see. I pull thread through the patches on the scarecrow's pants. What am I?
Hint: Be careful, my other end is sharp.
Answer: A needle - I'm flat, white and crunchy, and I hide inside a pumpkin by the hundreds. Roast me with a little salt for a snack. What am I?
Hint: Scoop me out before you carve.
Answer: Pumpkin seeds - I'm big and often red, with a hayloft upstairs and cows and horses inside. The scarecrow can see me from his field. What am I?
Hint: My doors are big enough for a tractor.
Answer: A barn - I have one wheel and two handles, and I carry straw from the barn to the scarecrow. What am I?
Hint: You push me, you don't pull me.
Answer: A wheelbarrow - I look like a pumpkin's bumpy, twisty cousin. People put me on tables for decoration instead of baking me into pie. What am I?
Hint: Some of me are dried and made into birdhouses.
Answer: A gourd - My golden heads wave in the wind, and I'm ground into flour to make bread. The scarecrow guards me from hungry birds. What am I?
Hint: I'm a grain, and I start with a W.
Answer: Wheat - I have an ear but I can't hear, and I grow right behind the scarecrow. What am I?
Hint: Butter me up!
Answer: An ear of corn - I come once a year in the fall, when farmers gather in all their crops. What am I?
Hint: There is a full moon named after me.
Answer: The harvest - In a famous 1900 book, I'm a scarecrow who walks down a yellow brick road to ask a wizard for a brain. Who am I?
Hint: My friends are Dorothy, a Tin Woodman and a Cowardly Lion.
Answer: The Scarecrow from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
For more barnyard brain teasers, the farm animal riddles are a great next round.
Tricky Scarecrow Riddles and Brain Teasers (39–48)
Difficulty: Hard. Word puzzles, quick math and logic. Older kids and adults usually need the hint for at least one of these.
- I'm a 9-letter word. Take away my first 5 letters and a bird is left. What am I?
Hint: The bird is black and says caw.
Answer: Scarecrow (scare + crow) - Twelve crows sit around a scarecrow. The farmer moves the scarecrow and 5 crows fly away. Later, 3 of them come back. How many crows are there now?
Hint: Subtract first, then add.
Answer: 10 crows (12 – 5 + 3 = 10) - A farmer had 17 pumpkins. All but 9 were picked by kids at the patch. How many pumpkins are left?
Hint: Read "all but" very carefully.
Answer: 9 pumpkins - A scarecrow faces the sunrise every morning. Which direction does its back point?
Hint: The sun rises in the east.
Answer: West - Each scarecrow needs 1 hat, 2 boots and 2 gloves. How many items do you need to dress 4 scarecrows?
Hint: Work out one scarecrow first.
Answer: 20 items (5 items x 4 scarecrows) - I'm long in the morning, short at noon and long again in the evening. I move around the scarecrow all day, but the scarecrow never moves. What am I?
Hint: The sun makes me.
Answer: The scarecrow's shadow - Scarecrow Sam is taller than Scarecrow Pip. Pip is taller than Scarecrow Lou. Which scarecrow is the shortest?
Hint: Line them up from tallest to shortest.
Answer: Lou - The more you take away from me, the bigger I get. The farmer digs me to plant the scarecrow's pole. What am I?
Hint: You fill me back in with dirt.
Answer: A hole - Spell me backwards and I become bumps on a toad's skin. Scarecrows are stuffed with me. What am I?
Hint: Write the word down and flip it.
Answer: Straw (backwards it spells warts) - A scarecrow stands in the field. It has no legs, yet it never falls over. What is holding it up?
Hint: Look underneath its shirt.
Answer: A wooden pole or post (often shaped like a T)
Planning a Thanksgiving table game too? Our Thanksgiving riddles with answers mix easy and hard riddles in the same way. And for a spookier October party, add a few Halloween riddles for kids.
Printable Scarecrow Riddle Scoring Sheet
Split into teams, read the riddles out loud and keep score on this sheet. Print it or copy it onto a whiteboard. A team that solves a riddle without the hint gets 1 bonus point.
| Round | Riddles | Points per correct answer | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Easy | 1–15 | 1 | ||
| 2. Funny | 16–27 | 1 | ||
| 3. Medium | 28–38 | 2 | ||
| 4. Tricky | 39–48 | 3 | ||
| No-hint bonus | Any | +1 | ||
| Total |
Maximum score: 79 points before bonuses. For little kids, skip round 4 and let them answer as one big team. Printing tip: choose Print in your browser and turn on “Background graphics” so the table lines show.
True Scarecrow Facts Behind the Riddles
Riddles are more fun when kids know a little about the real thing. Here is what scarecrows are, where they come from and why there is one in a famous book.
| Fact | Goes with riddle | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient Egyptians are the first people on record to protect their fields from birds, often with nets, long before the straw scarecrow we know today. | 1, 15 | National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Greek and Roman farmers guarded their vineyards with carved wooden figures. | 35 | National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Japanese farmers made a human-shaped scarecrow called a kakashi. | 1 | National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| Today many scarecrows are fall decorations. You can build one from old clothes, a pillowcase or burlap sack, straw, twine and a T-shaped wooden frame. | 8, 14, 48 | National Inventors Hall of Fame |
| The Scarecrow in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was drawn on the title page that L. Frank Baum sent to the Library of Congress with his copyright application on August 1, 1900. | 38 | Library of Congress |
Why scarecrows don’t always work: crows are clever birds. A scarecrow that never moves can stop scaring them after a while, so many gardeners move their scarecrow around or add things that flap and shine in the wind. Ask kids: if you were a crow, what would scare you?
If your group loved these, the bony humor in our skeleton riddles makes a fun October follow-up.
Scarecrow Riddles FAQ
What is a good scarecrow riddle for kids?
Try "I have five fingers but no bones. Stuff me with straw and I become a scarecrow's hand. What am I?" The answer is a glove. Short riddles with one clear answer like this work well for kids ages 4 to 7.
What is the most famous scarecrow joke?
"Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field." It works because "outstanding" means excellent, and the scarecrow is also standing out in a farm field.
What is the answer to the riddle "I'm stuffed but I never eat"?
The full riddle is "I'm stuffed but I never eat, I'm dressed but I never shop, and I guard the field but I never fight. What am I?" The answer is a scarecrow.
Where did scarecrows come from?
Ancient Egyptians are the first people on record to protect their fields from birds, mostly with nets. Greek and Roman farmers used wooden figures, and Japanese farmers made a human-shaped scarecrow called a kakashi, according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
How can I use scarecrow riddles in class?
Read one easy riddle each morning in October or November, or run a four-round team game with the printable scoring sheet on this page: 1 point for easy riddles, 2 for medium and 3 for tricky ones.
Sources: National Inventors Hall of Fame: Do Scarecrows Really Scare Crows?; Library of Congress: The Wizard of Oz, An American Fairy Tale.
Last updated: October 2026.
