Quiz #404 (2011-2-12) Solution

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Solution by Tony Leukering

Of the respondents that provided a second species in their answers, six of 13 got that second species correct. Unfortunately, seven respondents provided only one species in their answers. The obvious species was determined by most to be a falcon, with most respondents using the overall darkness, the relatively rounded wingtip, and the wide dark subterminal tail band to ID it as a Merlin. I have used Merlin as a quiz bird at least five times so far (out of the ~300 quizzes that I've conducted in this venue) and at least once before, the Merlin was carrying a prey item captured at or near Cape May Point State Park, Cape May Co., NJ (this one in fall 2010, but as I'm having trouble with an external hard drive, I cannot get the date right now). The previous example, Quiz #276, was carrying a Tree Swallow that I saw the Merlin catch. This one, however, came in off the water shortly after sunrise carrying the hapless victim and I photographed it primarily to attempt ID of the prey item.

Many respondents thought that the prey item was a swallow, but looking closely should provide all the characters needed to correctly ID it... as long as one correctly determines the position in which the bird is being carried. The bird's upperparts are against the Merlin's belly, so we're looking at the underparts, and that long, black tail below the bright rufous vent is really all we need to see (though the distinct black crown contrasting with gray on most of the rest of the plumage is also helpful) that the prey item is a Gray Catbird. I have provided, below, an enlarged section of the quiz image that illustrates the points noted above.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
American Kestrel (presumably; the 2nd word was missing) - 1
Barn Swallow - 1
Peregrine Falcon - 1
Violet-green Swallow - 2
Cave Swallow - 1
Cliff Swallow - 2

Congratulations to the 6 of 21 getting the quiz correct:
Christopher Hinkle
Adrian Hinkle
Devich Farbotnik
Christian Nunes
Ali Iyoob
Bryan Guarente

Answer: Merlin, Gray Catbird

Quiz #403 (2011-2-11) Solution

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Solution by Peter Wilkinson and Tony Leukering

As Peter Wilkinson wrote: "Ah, a small buteo (that is, smaller than Swainson's)." Though raptors, in general, provide lots of angst for birders, perhaps none but the accipiters provide more than the small buteos. This week's selection of responses proved the case, as only 50% of respondents got the correct answer. As Peter Wilkinson provided a fairly thorough answer, we'll start with his words. Remember, he's a Brit and does not get a lot of practical experience with ABA-area small buteos.

"The larger buteos are ruled out by wing/tail ratio and Swainson's itself is ruled out by the wings not being pointed enough. That leaves Gray, Red-shouldered, Broad-winged, and Short-tailed. Gray can be ruled out by the lack of barring on the thighs and Short-tailed has a completely different underwing pattern, leaving us Red-shouldered and Broad-winged. Juveniles of these species can look rather similar. The classic translucent panel on the primaries of Red-shouldered (which this bird appears to show) can be mimicked by the effects of the moult of second-calendar-year Broad-wingeds, and this bird hass clearly started its primary moult. Fortunately, they can be separated by the tail-barring (more in Red-shouldered, less in Broad-winged) and the number of fingers (5 in Red-shouldered, 4 in Broad-winged)."

Thanks, Peter. I'd like to expand upon Peter's words just a bit. Juvenile Swainson's Hawks do not sport a translucent panel, which our quiz bird exhibits, though it has been reduced in breadth by the dropping of four inner primaries on each side and the growth of two adult inner primaries on each side. In fact, those replaced primaries make as good a case as any against Swainson's Hawk as they are not dark enough and are too-obviously banded. They also make a strong case against Gray Hawk, as adult Gray Hawks have a thin subterminal black band, not the wide virtually-terminal band on our quiz bird. Additionally, juvenile Gray Hawks tend not to sport the wrist commas of our quiz bird (created by individual spots on the underside primary coverts) and have rounder wingtips, with the longest primary not all that much longer than the outermost primary. Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks have generally dark throats; even Florida juvs would show more dark here than does our quiz bird.

The quiz picture of a molting one-year-old Broad-winged Hawk was taken by Debbie Barnes at Fountain Creek Regional Park, El Paso Co., CO, on 28 May 2007.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Gray Hawk - 4
Swainson's Hawk - 3
Red-shouldered Hawk - 2

Congratulations to the 9 of 18 getting the quiz correct:
Tyler Bell
Thomas Hall
Pam Myers
Margie Joy
Su Snyder
Peter Wilkinson
Robert McNab
Diane Porter
Chishun Kwong

Answer: Broad-winged Hawk)