Quiz #315 (2009-3-10) Answer

Click the picture for a larger view.

Answer by Tony Leukering

For a change, we can see our quiz bird's head and almost all other critical parts, so we ought to be able to get this one correct rather quickly. Ah, but the beastie is flying, and that will put some off. That the bird is an oriole -- with its pale-based and quite-pointed bill and color pattern of yellow-olive body and blackish wings and tail -- seemed obvious to respondents, but which particular oriole was a question of some uncertainty.

When one is looking at an oriole, there are a couple of macro-scale features that can quickly reduce the number of options from the list of 10 ABA-area oriole species (see rules for link). The first is whether the bird is a yellow oriole or an orange oriole. There are five truly orange species of oriole -- that is, they do not sport a yellow or yellowish plumage at any age -- on this list (Streak-backed, Bullock's, Spot-breasted, Altamira, and Baltimore) and two truly yellow orioles (Audubon's and Scott's). Then there are the 'tweeners, those species that either have at least one age/sex class flaunting a yellow or yellowish plumage but with other plumages lacking yellow (Orchard) and those that cannot decide whether they want to be yellow or orange (Hooded and Black-vented). We can quickly rule out the five truly orange orioles.

Another couple of excellent wedge characters are wing pattern and tail pattern. Our quiz bird seems to have a solid black tail, but looking at the far rectrix, which appears greenish, suggests that our impression of blackness may be due to shading rather than pigmentation. However, that tail does seem to lack the white tips of Scott's Oriole tails and its length is also different from the short tail typical of Scott's. The quiz beastie has black wings with thin, pale wingbars, which rule out Black-vented. The above should leave us with only three options, Orchard, Hooded, and Audubon's. As it's the most-limited, range-wise, in the ABA area, we'll start our final elimination process with Audubon's. That species does have a rounded or graduated tail as on our quiz bird, but it also sports a short, straight bill at odds with our quiz bird. In fact, that feature also eliminates Orchard, which also has a shorter, squarer tail than does our quiz bird. I took this picture of an immature Hooded Oriole at Goleta, Santa Barbara Co., CA, on 28 July 2009.

Emerging from the carnage of this week's quiz, Al Guarente, with nine correct, is in sole possession of first place in the quarter's competition, with Mark Dettling, Robert McNab, and Peter Wilkinson right behind with eight correct. One correct answer was submitted 48 minutes past the deadline. Sorry.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Orchard Oriole - 9
Scott's Oriole - 3

The 6 of 18 providing the correct answer:
Mark Dettling
Al Guarente
Andy Dettling
Peter Wilkinson
Margie Joy
Robert McNab

Answer: Hooded Oriole

Quiz #314 (2009-3-09) Answer

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Answer by Margie Joy and Tony Leukering

This week's blackish bird in the grass caused a bit of consternation among the regulars, though a large majority scored a 'C' (for 'correct') in the results spreadsheet. Margie Joy, a relative newcomer to the quiz, provided a pretty decent answer, so we'll start there.

"I looked at several kinds of glossy black birds --

Corvids -- crows and ravens are likely too big, given the way the bird is tucked into the grass, and their tails are proportionally too long [I would suggest that the size comparison with the grass also rules this group out--Mr Bill];

Blackbirds, including grackles -- some of these could be the right size but again their tails are too long;

Phainopepla also has a long tail; and

Purple Martins (pushing it with this one) are small enough (but too slender) and have shortish tails, but their wingtips extend to their tail tips, and they are blue-black, which the quiz bird is not, except maybe on some of the highlights.

So, that leaves European Starling, which is about the right size, glossy black, and has a short, squared-off tail. And spots. It took a lot of looking to decide that the light "marks" in the photo might, indeed, be lighter-colored tips and edges of feathers, very worn and pretty subtle, but I'm pretty well convinced."

As Margie noted, some of our bird's scapulars have thin, buffy fringes to the tips and some have quite distinct long, pale, pointed tips that are distinctive of European Starling. Finally, the tertials have iridescent leading edges, but the bulk of each of those feathers is a flat grayish-brownish-black, another feature that makes a strong case for European Starling and helps to rule out the other black options. Thanks, Margie, and kudos to you for also, roughly, determining the seasonality of the photograph; the worn state of the plumage and the molt suggest a late-summer or early-fall photography date.

I photographed this worn adult European Starling that has initiated its pre-basic molt (the only molt that the species conducts in a given year) at the terminal for the Cape May - Lewes ferry, Cape May Co., NJ, on 18 August 2009. Another picture in that series is presented below for confirmation.



Al Guarente emerged from this quiz in sole possession of first place for this quarter's competition, though with four others breathing down his neck.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Northwestern Crow - 1
Brewer's Blackbird - 1
American Crow - 2
Shiny Cowbird - 1
Common Grackle - 1

The 12 of 18 providing the correct answer:
David Clark
John Bissell
Marcel Such
Joel Such
Kevin Kerr
Mark Dettling
Al Guarente
Margie Joy
Robert McNab
Peter Wilkinson
Aaron Brees
Nick Komar

Answer: European Starling