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ABA Photo Quiz

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 116

Answer

There’s not all that much distinctive about this month’s quiz bird: dirty-brown head, vaguely brown-streaked off-white underparts, dark tail and wingtips. However, the bill appears to be hooked, which would leave us few options. The bill is too long to be that of a raptor – diurnal or nocturnal – and the wings are too wide and too short to be those of a true seabird such as those in the Procellariiformes (albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels) or of the semi-seabirds, such as cormorants and frigatebirds. The only remaining hooked-bill options are gulls and related species, so let’s ponder those options.

If this were a gull, it would have to be a juvenile or first-winter bird and it would have to be a member of one of the larger species, as the small species are very neatly patterned at younger stages. However, again, our bird’s wings are too wide and short for those of a gull, of whatever size. Looking at the wings, we might note the large white patch, so let’s consider skuas and jaegers. Unfortunately for those options, the white patch is in the secondaries, not the primaries, so those options are ruled out, leaving us a hooked-bill solution set of exactly zero species.

We must have gone wrong somewhere, so we should back-track our ID process. The last item considered was the hooked bill. What if that feature is anomalous for this species? Where would be start? The tail gives us an excellent clue, as the rectrices are long and quite pointed, and the tail appears somewhat forked. Woodpeckers sport such rectrices for propping themselves against tree trunks, and once we’re among the Picidae, the identification is quite straightforward. Our quiz bird has secondaries that are mostly white, with all having a wide black subterminal band and with the outer two having a black spot each on the inner web. This pattern is diagnostic for the age and species. I took this picture of a juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker at Higbees Beach SWA, Cape May Co., NJ, on 18 September 2005. I don’t know how the bird fared with that oddly hooked beak, but ….

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The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the October Bird Photo Quiz—Red-headed Woodpecker:

  1. Landon Neumann - Logansport, IN
  2. tom graham - seabrook nh
  3. Chad Propst - Annville PA
  4. Jimmy Warren - Schwenksville, PA
  5. Anthony Gonzon - Middletown, DE
  6. Madeleine McDonald - San Antonio, Texas
  7. Ann Nightingale - Victoria, BC
  8. Bob Proctor - Elgin, Scotland
  9. Nate Swick - Chapel HIll, NC
  10. Joseph Mosley - willard, MO
  11. Sarah Toner- A2, Michigan
  12. Alan Dupuis - Cambridge, NY
  13. Jackie Augustine- Lima, OH
  14. Dave Slager - Columbus, Ohio
  15. logan kahle - San Francisco, CA
  16. Michael Lester - Tucson, AZ
  17. Alexandre Anctil - Rimouski, Qc
  18. David Rankin - Arundel, ME
  19. Chris Warren- Austin, TX
  20. Kim Silver - Spring, MD
  21. Wayne Meyer - Denison, TX
  22. Andrew Aldrich - Aurora, IL
  23. Ryan Ford - Philadelphia, PA
  24. William Rockey - Esparto, CA
  25. Lance Verderame - Livingston Manor, New York
  26. Harley Winfrey - Wheatland, MO
  27. Daniel Palmer - Chula Vista, CA
  28. Aaron Bilyeu - Placerville, CA
  29. Sean Williams - East Lansing, MI
  30. Mike Fialkovich - Pittsburgh, PA
  31. Jim Flynn - Seattle, WA
  32. Josh Southern - Raleigh, NC
  33. Kim Savides - Chardon, OH
  34. Pamela Corwin - Charleston, SC
  35. Shane Blodgett - Brooklyn NY
  36. Blue Rubi - New York
  37. Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  38. Gary Bloomfield - Arcata, CA
  39. Michael Cannon - Mount Prospect, IL
  40. James McKay - Mesa, AZ
  41. Rob Fergus - Hunterdon County, NJ
  42. Nate M - Lansing, MI
  43. Irvin Louque - Lake Charles, LA
  44. Vince Cavalieri - DeWitt, MI
  45. Robert Packard - Riverside, CA
  46. Anya Auerbach - New York, NY
  47. Aiden Moser - Henniker, NH
  48. Nick Newberry - Oakton, VA
  49. David Hollie - Ringgold, GA
  50. Dustin Holschuh - Rock Falls,IL
  51. Claude Auchu - La Pocatiere, Quebec
  52. Laure Neish - Penticton, BC Canada
  53. Martin Sharp - Edmonton, Alberta
  54. Peter LaBelle - Thetford, Vermont
  55. Evan Lipton - Milton, MA
  56. Greg Zupansic - Eugene, Oregon
  57. Dan Vice - barrigada, guam
  58. Thomas Ford-Hutchinson - Irvine, CA
  59. Peter Lamboy - Scotia, NY
  60. Karl Erich Mayer - Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
  61. Rick Poulin - Ottawa Ontario
  62. Joseph Miller - Nickerson, Kansas
  63. Blake Mathys - West Mansfield, OH
  64. Greg Prelich - New Rochelle, NY
  65. Ron Baltzegar - Greenville TX
  66. Benjamin Shamgochian - East Providence, RI
  67. John Shamgochian - East Providence, RI
  68. Alex Wang - Hilo, Hawaii
  69. Steve Hampton - Davis, CA
  70. Nick Lund Silver - Spring, MD
  71. Su Snyder - Wooster, OH
  72. Dennis Troyer - Sugarcreek, OHio
  73. Kent Martin - Kalamazoo, MI
  74. Terri Everett - Big Rapids, MI
  75. Aspen Ellis - Ann Arbor, MI
  76. Monica Nugent - New Westminster, BC
  77. Dean Nicholson - Cranbrook, B.C.
  78. Yousif Attia - Calgary, AB
  79. Marcelo Brongo - Sant Cugat del Valles, SPAIN
  80. Michael Kline - Fredericksburg Va.
  81. Robert Lockett - Portland, Oregon
  82. Greg Schrott - Avon Park, FL
  83. Eleanor Kwik - Pittsburgh, PA
  84. Margaret Smith - Boulder, Colorado
  85. Celestyn Brozek - Albuquerque, NM
  86. Curtis Welling - Versailles, KY
  87. Sebastien Rioux - Quebec city, Qc
  88. Wes Hatch - Chagrin Falls, OH
  89. David Arbour - De Queen, Arkansas
  90. Rob Parsons - Winnipeg, Manitoba
  91. Gary Woods - Fresno, CA
  92. Thomas Hopkins - Saint Petersburg, FL
  93. Don Pendleton - East Palo Alto, CA
  94. Ross Schaefer - Atascadero, CA
  95. Jason McGuire - London, ON
  96. jim bates - oklahoma city OK
  97. Liesa Mendell - Warren, Michigan
  98. Mike Wasilco - Caledonia, NY
  99. Colton Prins - Redcliff, Alberta
  100. William von Herff - Ottawa, Ontario
  101. Claire Stuyck - Clemson, SC
  102. Brian Menker - Dayton, OH
  103. James P. Smith - Gill, MA
  104. Graham Etherington - Norwich, UK
  105. Tim Lucas - Waterford,Ontario
  106. Stephen Joly - Kamloops, BC
  107. David Bell - Guelph, ON
  108. Ann Gibson - Winfield, BC
  109. Mike Burrell - Stirling, ON
  110. Adam Betuel - Terre Haute, IN
  111. Don Jones - Laramie, WY
  112. David Clark - Norfolk, VA
  113. Mark Scheuerman - Sugar Land, TX
  114. Larry Langstaff - Chandler
  115. Andrew Guttenberg - Bozeman, MT
  116. Danny - Albuqerque, NM
  117. Clark Higginbotham - Johns Island, SC
  118. George Cresswell - Colorado Springs, CO
  119. John Brett - Toronto, ON
  120. Patty McKelvey - Sheffield Village, Ohio; USA
  121. Tom Benson - San Bernardino, CA
  122. Brennan Mulrooney - CA
  123. Georgia Conti - Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Mexico
  124. Will Sweet - Sharon, MA
  125. Claire Miller - Fair Oaks, CA
  126. Jon Ruddy - Ottawa, ON
  127. Zachary Holderby - Penobscot, ME
  128. John Hammond - NC
  129. Olivier Barden - Baie-Comeau
  130. Jon Atwood - Keene, NH
  131. Dan O'Malley - Lafayette, LA
  132. Cheryl Caesar - Lynnwood, WA
  133. Marc Ribaudo - Woodbridge, VA
  134. Vasanthi Balson - Columbus, OH
  135. Jack Esworthy - Richmond, VA
  136. Thomas Snetsinger - Brownsville, OR
  137. Brendan Higgins - Arcata, ca
  138. Jeff Marks - Portland, OR
  139. Peter Lane - Québec, Canada
  140. Robert Doster - Chico, CA
  141. John Rodgers - Pasadena
  142. Lisa Phelps - Columbus, OH
  143. Jilly Rodriguez Mendez - Oaxaca, Mexico
  144. Eric Antonio Martinez- Oaxaca, Mexico
  145. Don Henise - Jackson, MI
  146. Philip Kline - Tucson, AZ
  147. Stephen Joly - Kamloops, BC
  148. Kent Fiala - Hillsborough, NC
  149. Rick Lauzon - Toronto, Ontario
  150. Vin Zollo - Walpole, MA
  151. Kyle Ellsworth - Maine
  152. Richard Stern - Port Williams, NS
  153. Larry Kline - Fredericksburg, VA
  154. Barb Robertson - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  155. Pam Myers - Santa Cruz, CA
  156. thomas Hall - Livermore, CO
  157. Chris Dalton - Ithaca, NY
  158. Robert Meehan - Durham, NC
  159. Tyler McClain - Sycamore, Ohio
  160. Linda Fink - Grand Ronde, OR
  161. Chuck Carlson - Ft. Peck, MT
  162. Mark Cranford - Mississauga, ON
  163. Claude Girard - St-Michel
  164. Chris Hobbs - Lenexa, KS
  165. Brad Hammond - West Palm Beach Florida
  166. Ed Harper - CA
  167. Jim Mountjoy - Galesburg, IL
  168. Tyson Dallas - Urbana, IL
  169. Brian E. Small - Los Angeles, CA
  170. Chris Blazo - Chambersburg, Pa
  171. Daniel Altif - Swiftwater, PA
  172. David La Puma - Madison, WI
  173. Francesca Zern - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  174. Daroczi J. Szilard - Tg.-Mures, Romania
  175. Mele Avery - Vancouver, BC
  176. Dave Woodson - Edmond, OK
  177. Matt Brady - Baton Rouge
  178. Matthew Dodder - Mountain View, CA
  179. linda sullivan - los gatos, ca
  180. Kaitlin Clark - East Lansing, MI
  181. Andrew Miller Partridge
  182. Bryant Miller Partridge



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.



Aztec Thrush
3
Lewis' Woodpecker
2
Pomarine Jaeger
2
Clark's Nutcracker
1
Clay-colored Thrush
1
Black-vented Shearwater
1
Brewer's Blackbird
1
Red-naped Sapsucker
1

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