Quiz #454 (2012-2-12) Solution

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Solution by Tony Leukering

Much of what most birders use to identify small birds such as this one is hidden behind the branch on which this week's quiz bird is perched. This picture, in which face and wings are invisible, forces us to use other features to ID the quiz bird. In fact, however, we can probably even age and sex the bird by the features visible.

The front of the bird is visible, and the black throat and upper-side streaking provide enough to know that we need look among the Parulidae for the solution to the quiz. However, a number of warbler species sport such features, so we'll have to look elsewhere on the bird still. While bill shape might provide a clue or two, we have a perfectly excellent field mark at the back end of the body to utilize. The undertail-coverts pattern of the quiz bird is unique among warblers, with each covert having a substantial black center.

I took this picture of an adult male Black-and-white Warbler in Cape May Point, Cape May Co., NJ, on 20 April 2011.

Tyler Bell is, apparently, a prophetic genius: "The ID might not be so difficult, but I'm guessing that the proper hyphenation/capitalization will trip up a few folks!" Indeed, there were three such submissions, all of which were precluded from being correct for the competition. Two lacked all hyphenation and two capitalized "white."

Incorrect species provided as answers:
none

Congratulations to the 17 of 17 respondents getting the quiz correct:
Kirk Huffstater
Tyler Bell
Ben Coulter
Patty McKelvey
Su Snyder
Al Guarente
Margie Joy
Thomas Hall
Richard Jeffers
Logan Kahle
Peter Wilkinson
Robert McNab
Pam Myers
Josh Yoder
Chishun Kwong
Bryan Guarente
Sean Walters

Answer: Black-and-white Warbler

Quiz #453 (2012-2-11) Solution

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Solution by Tony Leukering

Had I provided the previous week's quiz solution before anyone started submitting responses to this week's quiz, I bet that everyone would have gotten this one correct, because the important features are all noted in the solution to last week's quiz. With this bird, however, the bird appears to not be molting, which may send us into the Manx Shearwater camp, but the bird is a juvenile and they do not molt flight feathers in their first year. If you've read the previous quiz's solution than you will know to look at the face, noting the white above the eye and, most importantly, between the eye and the bill. There is one other feature that could assist ID of this quiz bird, and that is the presence of Sargassumweed in the photo, a feature of the western Atlantic Ocean with which Audubon's Shearwaters are strongly associated. I note that Margaret Smith noted all three of these features in her response -- KUDOS to you, Margaret! [An editorial note: 'kudos' is a singular noun, a word borrowed directly from Greek which has lots of '-os' endings to singular nouns.]

I took this picture of a juvenile Audubon's Shearwater near Wilmington Canyon, Cape May Co., NJ, on 11 September 2011. One respondents answer was precluded from being correct for the competition, as it lacked a capitalized 's.'

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Cory's Shearwater - 1
Black-vented Shearwater - 1
Manx Shearwater - 1

Congratulations to the 13 of 16 getting the quiz correct:
Kirk Huffstater
Ben Coulter
Tyler Bell
Al Guarente
Su Snyder
Patty McKelvey
Richard Jeffers
Margaret Smith
Peter Wilkinson
Pam Myers
Robert McNab
Josh Yoder
Sean Walters

Answer: Audubon's Shearwater