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Weekly (more or less) Photo Quiz!
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 05-31-2008, 6:04 PM |
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| 06-01-2008, 10:16 AM |
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featherbrain
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Joined on 04-13-2006
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Ringgold, GA
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Posts 1,313
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Thank you all for taking care of the problem, in between quizzes I tend not to get on WhatBird because usually there is nothing going on with the quiz (since you guys are emailing me).
Nsteika, sorry I didn't put it on the last quiz's answer, the singing bird was a Carolina Wren.
Thanks again guys, this is a group effort, without you guys answering this quiz wouldn't exist!
featherbrain  Try out my photo quiz!Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD! "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
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| 06-01-2008, 10:49 AM |
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featherbrain
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Joined on 04-13-2006
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Ringgold, GA
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Posts 1,313
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Seeing that this one was a bit to easy for most of you, I won't go into too much detail for the answer.
This quiz obviously had several birds in it calling for close examination of the photo to make sure we are seeing all of the birds. In this answer I am going to examine the birds from left to right since that is my natural instinct (since we read that way in English). First of all we see lots of small birds with massive orange, yellow, and dark gray bills, white faces and breast with black backs and nape. It seems that none of us had any trouble IDing these as a Puffin species (I think a good majority of non-birders would know these unique birds as puffins). Given that there are only 3 puffin species in the world (Atlantic, Horned, and Tufted) and that this photo was taken in Maine, we can say that they are Atlantic Puffins. To my knowledge Horned and Tufted Puffins have never been recorded on the east coast, but just to rule them out, Tufted would have a distinct yellow tuft wrapping around the head and would have a black breast. Horned Puffin could, at first glance, look similar to Atlantic, as far as feathering goes they are nearly identical, but Horned would have a large (almost appearing swollen) yellow base to the bill, lacking in every one of the 12 birds (possibly a 13th, unidentifiable bird in the back left).
Moving on to the right we see a larger bird with gray-brown upperparts and white underparts and gray-brown streaking on the flanks. It brings to mind Common and Thick-billed Murre and perhaps Razorbill. The thing bill (partially visible in the photo) and the streaking on the flanks safely rules out Razorbill and leaves us with Common and Thick-billed Murre. Once again the key marks mentioned above to separate this bird from Razorbill helps us safely rule out Thick-billed, leaving us with Common Murre.
Continuing right we notice a flying black and white bird. It brings to mind the same three species mentioned above, Razorbill and Common/Thick-billed Murre. Common Murre can easily be ruled out by by the thick bill and the pure white flanks, leaving us with Razorbill and Thick-billed Murre. We can see a white loral line as well as a thin white line around the bill, ruling out Thick-billed Murre. At first these markings may just appear as glare on the bill, and not knowing for sure that the markings aren't just glare, let's say that the white is just glare so that we can positively rule out Thick-billed Murre. Examining the bill closely we can see that it is very thick and has a blunt tip. Thick-billed Murre does have a thick bill, but not quite as thick as this bird, plus Thick-billed has a more pointed tip. Now we can positively say that the flying bird is a Razorbill.
I photographed these Atlantic Puffins, Common Murre, and Razorbill near Machias Seal Island off the shore of Maine.
I am pleased to say that there were no incorrect species guessed, however, there were several guesses that did not have every species in the photo, remember to each quiz thoroughly to make sure you aren't missing anything. In the future if I post a multiple species quiz I will make a note of it to warn you to look carefully.
Congratulations to:
Ephily
tim.birdboy
Bird Man of Texas
Valleygirl
Nsteika
Andy Lee
Next one coming soon!
featherbrain Try out my photo quiz!Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD! "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
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| 06-01-2008, 11:03 AM |
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| 06-01-2008, 7:00 PM |
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| 06-02-2008, 8:20 AM |
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featherbrain
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Joined on 04-13-2006
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Ringgold, GA
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Posts 1,313
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 Ephily:Do we get to know where this was taken?
Sorry, no location on this one (if I gave it to you guys then I think it would really confuse you, just wait til the answer for the location).
Enjoy!
featherbrain Try out my photo quiz!Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD! "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
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| 06-09-2008, 7:15 AM |
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tim.birdboy
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Joined on 05-19-2006
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Broken Bow, NE
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Posts 721
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Hi all,
This week's quiz shows a small (compared to the surroundings), relatively drab, plainly-marked Passerine flitting into some brush. The most noticeable features are the white supercillium ("eyebrow"), darker face, black tail, and white outer rectrices (tail feathers). It also has a chunky, made-for-seed-eating bill. Going by the general body shape, as well as bill shape, we can tell that this is a New World sparrow species.
Now, when I think "sparrow," I usually think "intricate," but this bird doesn't appear to have any intricate markings whatsoever! Thankfully, that's a good clue to this bird's identification. As far as I know (correct me if I'm wrong), only three species show this plain, gray-and-brown drabness combined with a white supercillium. Those are Five-striped, Sage, and Black-throated sparrows.
Five-striped Sparrow is a fairly large sparrow, with a pretty hefty bill, and are only found locally in southeast Arizona. They have a white supercillium, but their tail is entirely dark, unlike the quiz bird's tail which shows white on the outer edges. So, not a Five-striped....
How about a Black-throated Sparrow? They have a very prominent white supercillium, AND white edges to the tail. Keep that one in the back of your minds....
Sage Sparrow is an inconspicuous sparrow found in sagebrush (hence the name) and chaparral throughout much of the western US. They, however, do not have a contrasting dark face, nor does their supercillium extend so far.
featherbrain photographed this Black-throated Sparrow (Amphispiza bilineata) somewhere in Tennessee, where it was the first state record.
Incorrect guesses
Sage Sparrow - 1
Hermit Thrush - 1
Five-striped Sparrow - 1
Eastern Yellow Wagtail - 1
Congratulations to the following users who answered correctly!
Bird man of Texas
nsteika
Andy Lee
Next quiz should be posted sometime later today. I think it'll be a video!
And scoring is going to be started as well.
Art Thread
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| 06-09-2008, 9:43 AM |
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featherbrain
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Joined on 04-13-2006
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Ringgold, GA
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Posts 1,313
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Here's the next one!
It seems that we've had a couple of votes to start scoring, so we'll start it on this one. Since this is a video then it will be a multi part answer. However the main bird that we want IDed is the bird that we can see in the video. The visible bird is worth 10 points. If I am not mistaken, there are 5 species of birds singing in the back ground, however, there are only 4 that I can positively ID, so I will only count the three 100% IDable singing/calling birds, each worth 2 points.
Good Luck! (Location: North West Georgia)
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/794352/movie/794352.mpg
If the above link doesn't work, try this: http://www.picturepush.com/host.php?image=794352
featherbrain Try out my photo quiz!Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD! "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
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| 06-19-2008, 1:36 PM |
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| 06-25-2008, 11:56 PM |
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Andy Lee
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Joined on 02-04-2008
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Korea
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Posts 421
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Where have you gone birding now? Antarctica? When is the answer going to be posted?
Let's hope featherbrain's still alive and well
____________________________________________ "You can cage a bird, but you cannot make him sing." Andy
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| 06-26-2008, 7:17 AM |
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| 06-26-2008, 1:38 PM |
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Nancy
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Joined on 07-07-2007
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Hinckley, Ohio
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Posts 387
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I know he was going to be traveling alot this summer. I think he was supposed to be in North Dakota in June. Usually Tim or Josh help out when he's gone - maybe they are traveling too!!
I guess eventually he'll get back to us. I guess it's just the "More or less" part of the Weekly (more or less) Photo Quiz!
Nancy
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| 06-26-2008, 2:14 PM |
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| 06-27-2008, 5:14 PM |
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featherbrain
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Joined on 04-13-2006
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Ringgold, GA
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Posts 1,313
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Hi guys, I'm SOOO sorry I haven't gotten the answer up, I'll get it up this Sunday (maybe sooner, so keep checking back!) and we'll start again as usual. The problem this time was that all three of us, Josh, Tim, and I were all gone at the same time to the same place! Great fun in North Dakota! We've been back for a little while, I've just been so tired and busy trying to catch up that I haven't done the answer, once again I'm sorry, and I'm also sorry I haven't gotten back to your emails.
featherbrain Try out my photo quiz!Life is simple: Eat, Sleep, and BIRD! "Walk softly and carry a big scope!"
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