Monday, March 28, 2011

Quiz #392 (2011-1-13) Solution


Click on picture(s) for a larger view.

Answer by Tony Leukering

Monday's intake of 25 responses (including 11 new respondents, either for the year or ever) must have set an all-time first-day-of-new-quiz record. There have been weeks without that many responses!

This week's quiz bird has one really obvious field mark -- white wing patch -- and numerous less-obvious field marks, some of which were probably not taken into consideration by some/many. Included among these field marks are the pale pink legs that rule out both of the incorrect species provided as answers. The olive head and back, the yellow belly, and the very black outer wing and tail encompass the remainder of those field marks visible. The placement of the white wing patch is an imporant aspect of that field mark. The patch encompasses the secondaries and the greater coverts. The wing patches of both Lark Bunting and Bullock's Oriole (and White Wagtail; Magnolia, Audubon's, Cape May, and Blackburnian warblers; and Painted Redstart) encompass only coverts, leaving the secondaries black. This is a case where understanding which feathers one is looking at on a bird -- either flying or perched -- plays a huge role in identification and was the primary reason that I used this picture for the quiz.

There are only two ABA-area passerines sporting white secondaries and our quiz bird is obviously not a Clark's Nutcracker. I took this picture of a male Evening Grosbeak at Allenspark, Boulder Co., CO, on 31 March 2006.

This was the last quiz of the competition quarter, so it's time to award the prize of a year's membership in CFO, which, of course, includes a subscription to the organization's great journal, Colorado Birds. For the second time in as many years, a woman has won a quarterly competition; WAY TO GO! For whatever reasons, women are, unfortunately, not well-represented among the subset of birders that are well-known for their expertise and I'm always happen to see one receive her just acknowledgment. This goes doubly this time, as not only did Pam Myers come out on top, she got a perfect 13-of-13 score! Four others did not submit any incorrect answers but submitted answers for only 12 of the quarter's quizzes: Ben Coulter, Nick Komar, Christian Nunes, and Joel Such. Perhaps this quarter's results will encourage Rachel Hopper, a phenom from previous years of the competition, to start playing again, now that she's no longer on the CFO Board of Directors, thus eligible to win.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Lark Bunting - 1
Bullock's Oriole - 1

Congratulations to the 42 of 42 getting the quiz correct:
Tyler Bell
Ben Coulter
Su Snyder
Robert McNab
Thomas Hall
Kirk Huffstater
Brandon Percival
Nick Komar
Christian Nunes
Joe Hildreth
Michael Speegle
Michael Porter
Ben Warner
Chip Clouse
Scott Jennex
Richard Jeffers
Pam Myers
Margaret Smith
Ned Keller
Al La Sala
Christopher Hinkle
Kara Carragher
George Cresswell
Devich Farbotnik
Thomas Pollock
Peter Wilkinson
Louie Toth
Margie Joy
Bruce Webb
Ali Iyoob
Matt Bristol
John Kuba
Jim Nelson
Joseph & Rachel Brown
Al Guarente
Michael McCloy
Adrian Hinkle
Bryan Guarente
Chishun Kwong
Marcel Such
Joel Such
Chuck Carlson

Answer: Evening Grosbeak