The ABA Blog

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

ABA Photo Quiz

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 105

Answer

Bird Photo
[+] Click Image for Larger Version

From the comparison of bird length to branch and twig widths, we can safely assume that this month’s quiz bird is fairly small. Some birders viewing this picture may have noted the bird’s left foot, which sports an incredibly long nail on the hind toe. While that feature is one exhibited by longspurs (hence the name), the white-streaked brown upperparts of a bird perched on the side of a branch mitigates against a longspur option. However, there are numerous brown species with long hind toes in a family formerly considered to house the longspurs – the Emberizidae, most of which ABA-area species are known as sparrows. (The longspurs are now considered by the American Ornithologists’ Union to belong to a separate family – the Calcariidae – placed sequentially before the warblers!) However, even though the pink legs are good for many sparrows, a quick glance should enable most to rule out any and all sparrows by a variety of features, including patterns on individual upperparts feathers, the interesting wing pattern, and – most particularly – the long, narrow tail with individual rectrices being strongly pointed.
The bird’s long, thin tail may suggest Bushtit or Wrentit, but the plumage pattern is all wrong for either option, as is the spikiness of the tail feathers. The pink legs rule out any of the larger, long-tailed brown birds that we might have considered had we mistaken the bird’s size, leaving us with a single ABA-area option. I took this picture of a Brown Creeper in Belleplain State Forest, Cape May Co., NJ, on 18 March 2011.

~~~~~~~~

The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the October Bird Photo Quiz—Brown Creeper:

  1. Laramie Aspegren San Jose, Costa Rica
  2. paul doughty, chicago, il
  3. Andrew Aldrich, Aurora, IL
  4. Heather Morris, Durango, CO
  5. Alyssa Valenti, Bridgewater, NJ
  6. Dwight Porter, Portland, Oregon
  7. Mike McCloy, Cullowhee, NC
  8. Justin Bosler, Houma, Louisiana
  9. Marcelo Brongo, Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain
  10. Jim Flynn, Seattle, WA
  11. Elaine Nakash, Bowie, MD
  12. pamela corwin, ladson, sc
  13. Lauren Gilpatrick, Freeport, Maine
  14. Linda Swanson, San Francisco, CA
  15. Patty McKelvey, Sheffield Village, Ohio; USA
  16. Brooke McDonald, Redding, CA
  17. Greg Swick, Ozark,MO
  18. W, Denison, TX
  19. Ali Sheehey, Weldon, CA
  20. Jacob Hall, Washington, DC
  21. Diane Porter, Fairfield, IA
  22. Joshua Stuart, Rose Amherst MA
  23. Ali Sheehey, Weldon, CA
  24. beau schaefer, round lake beach, IL
  25. Blake Mathys, West Mansfield, OH
  26. BJ Stacey, Santee, CA
  27. Jeffrey Kyron, Hanson Pittsfield, MA
  28. Alain Pataud, Paris, France
  29. Jim Mountjoy, Galesburg, IL
  30. William Rockey, Esparto, CA
  31. Dean Nicholson, Cranbrook, B.C.
  32. Keith Lott, Columbus, Ohio
  33. Forrest Rowland, Big Timber, MT
  34. Gabrielle, Texas
  35. Gordon Dimmig, Pennsylvania
  36. Graham Williams, Longwood, FL
  37. Peter LaBelle, Thetford, Vermont
  38. Nick Newberry, Oakton, Virginia
  39. Tim katafias, Grand Blanc, MI
  40. Mike Fiakovich, Pittsburgh, PA
  41. Karl Erich Mayer, Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
  42. Thomas Hall, Livermore, CO
  43. Kevin Rogers, Bradford, RI
  44. Urs Geiser, Woodridge, IL
  45. Wesley Greentree, Campbell River, British Columbia
  46. Martin Sharp, Edmonton, Alberta
  47. David Bell, Guelph, ON
  48. Larry VanWagoner, National City, MIi
  49. Robert Packard, Riverside, CA
  50. Jim Kopitzke, Mesa, AZ
  51. Gary Bloomfield, Arcata, CA
  52. Brian E. Small, Los Angeles, CA
  53. Bob Proctor, Elgin, Scotland
  54. Alvan Buckley, St. John's, Newfoundland
  55. Clare Malbone, Indianapolis, Indiana
  56. logan kahle, San Francisco, CA
  57. Brett Budach, Overland Park, KS
  58. Peter Lamboy, Scotia, NY
  59. Josh Parks, fairbanks, AK
  60. John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH
  61. Olivier Barden, Quebec City, Qc
  62. Graham Etherington, Norwich, UK
  63. Nate Swick, Chapel Hill, NC
  64. Caity Reiland-Smith, Sioux Falls, SD
  65. Michael Kline, Fredericksburg Va.
  66. David Hollie, Ringgold, GA
  67. Michael Lester, Tucson, AZ
  68. Wes Hatch, Chagrin Falls, OH
  69. Linda Fink, Grand Ronde, OR
  70. Chris Warren, Austin, TX
  71. Peter Lane, Québec, Canada
  72. Mike Wasilco, Caledonia, NY
  73. Robert Doster, Chico, CA
  74. Wes Serafin, Orland Pk,Il 60462
  75. Alan Dupuis, Cambridge, NY
  76. Greg Schrott, Avon Park, FL
  77. Linda Hoffman, Springville, NY
  78. Don Pendleton, East Palo Alto, CA
  79. Erik Bruhnke, Duluth, MN
  80. Jack Esworthy, Richmond, VA
  81. Claire Miller, Fair Oaks, CA
  82. Darrel Wilder, Johnson City, TN
  83. Larry Kline, Fredericksburg, VA
  84. Kristen Martyn, Ontario
  85. Eric Plage, St. Petersburg, FL
  86. Liis Veelma, Winnipeg MB
  87. Nick Minor, Libertyville, Illinois
  88. Sam Manning, Omaha, NE
  89. Nathan Webb, Elba, AL
  90. Pam Myers, Santa Cruz, CA
  91. Alex Watson, Alexandria, MN
  92. Pete Fenner, East Peoria, IL
  93. William Von Herff, Ottawa, Ontario
  94. Tom Howe, Alcoa, TN
  95. Skyler Vold, Lamberton, Minnesota
  96. John Rodgers, Pasadena, CA
  97. Matthew Rymkiewicz, New York, NY
  98. Robert McNab, Laguna Niguel, CA
  99. Will Carlisle, Charleston, SC
  100. Paige Koon, Columbia, SC
  101. Monica Nugent, New Westminster, BC
  102. Charlotte Wasylik, Alberta Canada
  103. T McKenzie, ON
  104. Claude Auchu, La Pocatiere, Quebec
  105. Ann Gibson, Winfield, BC
  106. Scooter Magruder, Bursera, AZ
  107. Rebecca Evans, Seattle, WA
  108. Thomas Ford-Hutchinson, Irvine, CA
  109. Gary Wood,s Fresno, CA
  110. Karen Rubinstein, New York
  111. Spencer Hardy, Norwich, VT
  112. Lauren Bryde, Coram, NY
  113. Lance Verderame, Livingston Manor, NY
  114. John Habig, Carlisle, OH
  115. Ed Harper, Carmichael, CA
  116. Anya Auerbach, New York, NY
  117. Margaret Smith, Boulder, CO
  118. Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, VA
  119. Rick Poulin, Ottawa, Ontario
  120. Marcel Such, Lyons, CO
  121. Laure Neish, Penticton, BC Canada
  122. George F. Cresswell, Colorado Springs, CO
  123. Josh Southern, Raleigh, NC
  124. Alexandre Anctil, Rimouski, Qc
  125. John Hammond, Durham, NC
  126. Michael S. Levy, Centereach, N.Y.
  127. Kevin M. Hill, Shoreline, WA
  128. Dan Vice, Barrigada, Guam
  129. Su Snyder, Wooster, OH
  130. Vince Cavalieri, DeWitt, MI
  131. John Shamgochian, East Providence, RI
  132. John Branchflower, Portland, OR
  133. Timothy Swain, Concord, MA
  134. Andrew Thornton, Asheboro, NC
  135. Lucie Bruce, Houston, TX
  136. Steve Hampton, Davis, CA
  137. Dustin Holschuh, rock falls,ill
  138. Sam Plew, LaGrange, Indiana
  139. Eric Pineiro, Titusville, FL
  140. Greg Samuel, Seymour, Mo
  141. Philip Kline, Tucson, AZ
  142. Kim Silver, Spring, MD
  143. Tom Benson, San Bernardino, CA
  144. Michael Cannon, Mount Prospect, IL
  145. Ethan Kistler, Newton Falls, Ohio
  146. Greg Prelich, New Rochelle, NY
  147. Kim Savides, Chardon
  148. Barb Duncan, Jefferson City, MO
  149. Aspen Ellis, Ann Arbor, MI
  150. Josh Obrecht, Ames, IA
  151. Aaron Bilyeu, Placerville, CA
  152. Tim Hochstetler, Millersburg OH
  153. Georgia Conti, patzcuaro michoacan mexico
  154. Jacob Barkett, Woodbridge, VA
  155. Fred Sladen, New London, NH
  156. victor hugo, valencia patzcuaro michoacan mexico
  157. Melissa Sherwood, Gig Harbor, Wa.
  158. J.Roberto Rodríguez-Salazar, Chihuahua, Chihuahua
  159. Janneke Kimstra, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
  160. Brad Wilkinson, Tallmadge, OH
  161. Nancy Hetrick, Albuquerque, NM
  162. Michael Flake, Evansville, IN
  163. John Webster, Oreland, PA
  164. Julio Moises, Gomez Ochoa Davis, CA
  165. Chris Sukha, Field, Ontario
  166. David Rankin, Accord, NY
  167. Nicholas Steenhaut, Belmont, MA
  168. Megan Miller, Littleton, Colorado
  169. Mary Keleher, Mashpee, MA
  170. Larry Therrien, Belchertown, MA
  171. Paul Glass, South Boston, VA
  172. Warren Parker, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  173. John Terpstra, Garson, Ontario
  174. Thomas J Moeller, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  175. Elaine MacPherson, Sierra Madre, CA
  176. Barb Robertson, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  177. Jilly Rodriguez Mendez, Oaxaca, Mexico
  178. Eric Antonio Martinez, Oaxaca, Mexico
  179. Chuck Sexton, Austin, TX
  180. Kimberly Sucy, Rochester, NY
  181. Nick, Washington, DC
  182. Sarah Toner, Ann Arbor, MI
  183. Jimmy Warren, Schwenksville, PA
  184. Andre Moncrieff, Berrien Springs, MI
  185. Adrian Azpiroz, Montevideo, Uruguay
  186. Andrew Mangibin, Plainview, NY
  187. Ross Schaefer, Atascadero, CA
  188. Xinyu Zhu, Vancouver, BC
  189. Jill, Austin, TX
  190. Jason McGuire, London, ON
  191. Greg Zupansic, Eugene, Oregon
  192. Sarah J. Zastrow, Riverdale, MD
  193. Mary Zastrow, Riverdale, MD
  194. Bob Arche,r Portland, Oregon
  195. Jason Kitting, Tijeras, NM
  196. Joel Such, Lyons, CO
  197. Rich Swartzentruber, Salem, Oregon
  198. Austin Young, Buhl, Idaho
  199. Clive Bramham, Bergen, Norway
  200. Sandra Lautrup, Effingham, Illinois
  201. Kayla P., Hamler, OH
  202. Rick Laughlin, College Station, TX
  203. Sarah Laughlin, College Station, TX
  204. Larry Granat, Yorkville, Illinois
  205. Dan Walker, Carrizo Springs, Texas
  206. Margaret Martin, Roseville, CA
  207. Erin Willett, Tucson, AZ
  208. Lance Willett, Tucson, AZ
  209. Lowell Youn,g Mariposa, CA
  210. Terri Everett, Big Rapids, MI
  211. Daroczi J. Szilard, Tg.-Mures, Romania
  212. Matthew Schneider, Silverton, Oregon
  213. James Rudolph, Oshkosh, WI

How Did You Compare?

As stated in the quiz rules, answers must consist simply of the Common or English name exactly as it appears in the ABA Checklist.

The following list shows the number of submissions for each species guessed.

Brown Creeper
213
Common Nighthawk
1
 
 
Crowned Beeper
1
 

~~~~~~~~

The photo and answer for this quiz were supplied by Tony Leukering.