Quiz #463 (2012-3-08) Solution

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Solution by Tony Leukering

Ah, a nice, bright, red bird, well-lit and in focus. While we could certainly wish that that bird's head would be turned just a bit more our way, there really is no doubt that this is a male Northern Cardinal. End of story. For that bird, at least. There is a second bird in the picture that requires a bit more work and care. Much of that bird is hidden behind the male Northern Cardinal -- and the red bird looks roughly similar in size, perhaps a bit smaller, but we can see that the entire upperparts are a medium gray, that the tertials have white tips or fringes, and that the tail is long and blackish. Unfortunately, most of our ABA-area options with such upperparts and tertials sport white on the tail, which just does not appear in our quiz picture. Well, this iteration of the CFO Photo Quiz is all about structure and posture. So, let's get on with it.

Species that we might consider include both gray shrikes (although, why is the Northern Cardinal right next to something that would be more than happy to eat it?!), Townsend's Solitaire, Northern Mockingbird, Phainopepla, and Pine Grosbeak. First, recall the placement of the individual tail feathers when the tail is folded. From the topside on a completely folded tail, we can see only the two central rectrices (r1 on each side), while from underneath, most of what we can see is the pair of outermost rectrices (r6 on each side). So, since we're looking at the bird from above, as it were, even if it had extensive white on the outer rectrices, we would probably not see it on this tightly folded tail. So, that tail neither rules out the array of species with white on the tail, nor rules in Phainopepla or Pine Grosbeak.

We are not left with much to go on, but the primary reason for using this picture is all about leg length. You see, of the six options, only one of them has long legs, Northern Mockingbird. In the below image cut out from the quiz photo, I have arrows pointing to various legs in the picture (NOCA=Northern Cardinal, NOMO=Northern Mockingbird); note that the gray bird's left leg is mostly hidden behind the red bird's right leg.

In such a picture of any of the other candidate species, we would see nowhere near as much leg and, in fact, Townsend's Solitaires often show almost no leg at all, their legs are so short. Finally, I have inserted, below, another picture taken of this duo just seconds later; the image is not much different, but does provide more evidence for an ID of Northern Mockingbird that was present along the shores of Lily Lake, Cape May Point, Cape May Co., NJ, on 16 April 2012.

Note: I could swear that when I first looked at responses early last week that one respondent had noted leg length as a major ID point, and I was going to congratulate that person. However, I cannot find such now. Ah, well, it's heck getting old!

Three respondents provided answers with only one species, all Northern Cardinal.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
Plumbeous Vireo - 1
Townsend's Solitaire - 1

Congratulations to the 17 of 22 respondents getting the quiz correct:
Tyler Bell
Jeff Witters
Robert McNab
Ben Coulter
Christian Nunes
Nick Komar
Richard Jeffers
Margie Joy
Logan Kahle
Al Guarente
Margaret Smith
Su Snyder
Peter Wilkinson
Bryan Guarente
Kirk Huffstater
Joe Bens
Sean Walters

Answer: Northern Mockingbird, Northern Cardinal

Quiz #462 (2012-3-07) Solution

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Solution by Tony Leukering

This week's quiz bird seems to be perched on rip rap, and since there seems to be water behind it, we might surmise that the bird is on a jetty. Of course, that assumption may or may not help us with the bird's ID; it might even send us astray. Regardless, since we can see at least one of the bird's hind toes and it is not elevated, we can rule out any shorebird. In fact, our bird appears to have a stout and short bill, dark above and yellowish below. Those features, also, rule out shorebirds, as do its short, pink legs.

The short and stout bill might send us to the back of the field guide where reside most such ABA-area birds. The plain and dull underparts, in combination with the pink legs, rule out all of the finches. The brown crown and those pink legs might then send us searching among the Emberizidae (the New World sparrows and similar things), but that plain and dingy breast doesn't fit too many options there. The brown towhees are, well, too brown, and the beastie just looks off for it to be any of the plain-breasted sparrows, perhaps because of those blackish bits on the chin and throat. Ah, that lovely, Canadian breeding endemic sparrow, Harris's, has black on the chin and throat, but it should have either a lot more black in that area (adults), or less (immatures), and, if less, ought to have some black spotting/streaking on the upper sides, which it lacks. Even though, to experienced birders, it might seem unlikely, I have seen multiple beginning birders identify those brown birds with black on chin and throat nesting in the eaves of their houses as Harris's Sparrows. That may be because they get to the New World sparrows in the field guide, find Harris's Sparrow, and stop looking. Thus, they don't find, at the very back of the book, that introduced sparrow from the Old World that also sports black chin and throat (and upper breast). While our bird does not sport much of the black typical of a male House Sparrow, we can see the rough outline of that black and be happy with that ID. What we may not know, though, is that male House Sparrows molt in new feathers on the chin, throat, and upper breast in late summer/fall (along with all of their other feathers) that have thin to wide pale fringes that obscure the black throat patch. As those feathers wear through the fall and winter, the black becomes more and more evident.

Those that studied the quiz bird more closely will have noticed that the crown looks at least partly brown, not entirely gray, and that there does not appear to be any black in front of the eyes. Ah, close scrutiny is always good when obtainable. When male House Sparrows grow their juvenal (=first basic) plumage in the nest, they grow female-like plumage. However, once fledged for a bit, they initiate their preformative molt and bring in obviously male plumage. With these facts, we can safely surmise that our quiz bird is an immature male House Sparrow somewhere in the process of replacing its juvenal plumage in its first fall, when I took the picture at Avalon, Cape May Co., NJ, on 7 October 2008. I have included, below, an enlarged crop of our quiz bird's upper body in which one can see the mix of dull, even pale, brown and gray feathering in the crown; the former being juvenal feathering, the latter adult. Amazingly, the location of the photograph was guessed by one respondent, Sean Fitzgerald. Of course, he had an unfair advantage, having spent an entire fall standing by this jetty counting the immense southward migration of waterbirds there, oddly enough, in 2008! Finally, at least as this quiz is concerned, Peter Wilkinson correctly sussed the bird's plumage and which molt it was conducting.

Now that we're a bit over halfway through the quarter's competition, Richard Witters finds himself alone atop the leader board with a perfect 7-of-7 score; seven others are on his heels with 6 correct responses. As for the annual competition, Ben Coulter (30 correct responses) has a one-correct-response lead on Robert McNab.

Incorrect species provided as answers:
none -- excellent!

Congratulations to the 21 of 21 getting the quiz correct:
Logan Kahle
Tyler Bell
Ben Coulter
Jeff Witters
Sean Fitzgerald
Margaret Smith
Nick Komar
Richard Jeffers
Chris Witt
Bryan Guarente
Larry Griffin
Al Guarente
Jim Nelson
Robert McNab
Su Snyder
Peter Wilkinson
Margie Joy
Pam Myers
Sean Walters
William von Herff
Joe Bens

Answer: House Sparrow