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ABA Photo Quiz

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 118

Answer

The identification of this flying bird coming right us is hampered by the strongly backlit aspect of the photo’s subject. That lighting aspect makes for a black-and-white picture, and the angle of view restricts our ability to use shape cues. However, we do have one large clue: those contrastingly all-white secondaries. Though all-white secondaries contrasting with all-black primaries is not a common feature in ABA-area bird species, more than just a few sport such, with that set of birds including such disparate species as White-winged Scoter, Eared Grebe, Northern Gannet, Clark’s Nutcracker, and Snow Bunting.

Despite the trickiness of the angle and lighting, we have another excellent clue to our bird’s identity that will let us shortstop the ID process: The strong contrast between dark and white on the underparts. In fact, there is only one ABA-area species that sports both of our ID clues, and the suggestion of red on the head only confirms that. I took this picture of an adult Red-headed Woodpecker at Cape May Point, Cape May Co., NJ, on 29 April 2011.

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

  1. Peter Lane Québec - City, Canada
  2. Daroczi J. Szilard - Tg.-Mures, Romania
  3. Tom Smith - Roswell, GA
  4. Kevin Welsh - Novi, mi
  5. Abraham Borker - Santa Cruz
  6. Clay Taylor - Corpus Christi, TX
  7. Tom Auer - Wakefield, RI
  8. Nick Block - Villa Park, IL
  9. Gary Bloomfield - Arcata,CA
  10. Samuel Ewing - Newberry, FL
  11. M. Erythrocephalus - Lumduck, Idaho
  12. Andrew Aldrich - Aurora, IL
  13. Bob Proctor - Elgin, Scotland
  14. Madeleine McDonald - San Antonio, Texas
  15. Simon Mitchell - Doncaster, UK
  16. Dan O'Malley - Lafayette, LA
  17. Brian Johnson - Jeffersonville, IN
  18. Max Wilson - Kensington, MD
  19. Nick Newberry - Oakton, VA
  20. Chris Blazo - Chambersburg, PA
  21. Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky - Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  22. Nick Minor - Libertyville, IL
  23. Mayn Hipp - Boston, MA
  24. Geoffrey Urwin - Warman, SK
  25. Aiden Moser - Henniker, NH
  26. Liesa Mendell - Warren, Michigan
  27. Claude Auchu - La Pocatiere, Quebec
  28. Anya Auerbach - New York, NY
  29. Corey Husic - Kunkletown, PA
  30. Sean Williams - East Lansing, MI
  31. Urs Geiser - Woodridge, IL
  32. Tyler - Seattle, WA
  33. Lance Verderame - Livingston Manor, New York
  34. Michael Lester - Tucson, AZ
  35. Irvin Louque - Lake Charles, LA
  36. Jim Mountjoy - Galesburg, IL
  37. Jeffrey Kyron - Hanson Pittsfield, MA
  38. Josh Southern - Raleigh, NC
  39. Colton Prins - Redcliff, Alberta
  40. Clifford Hawley - Sacramento, CA
  41. logan kahle - San Francisco, CA
  42. Joseph Mosley - willard, MO
  43. Karl Erich Mayer - Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
  44. Benjamin Guo - Bloomington
  45. David Bell - Guelph, ON
  46. Brian Bielfelt - Santa Clarita, CA
  47. Blake Mathys - West Mansfield, OH
  48. Kim Savides - Chardon, OH
  49. Greg Schrott - Avon Park, FL
  50. Marcelo Brongo - Sant Cugat del Valles, Spain
  51. Steve Hampton -Davis, CA
  52. Ryan O'Donnell -Logan, UT
  53. Justyn Stahl -San Clemente Island, CA
  54. David Arbour -De Queen, Arkansas
  55. Ann Gibson -Winfield, BC
  56. Johanna Milan - MI
  57. Jason McGuire -London, ON
  58. Terri Everett -Big Rapids, MI
  59. Brennan Mulrooney -Santee, CA
  60. Jared Parks -Church Hill, MD
  61. Vince Cavalieri -DeWitt, MI
  62. Jack Holloway -Mesa, AZ
  63. Jan Frye -Richmond, VA
  64. Darrel Wilder -Johnson City, TN
  65. Steven Bouyack -Columbus, OH
  66. James Warren -Schwenksville, PA
  67. Nick Komar -Fort Collins, CO
  68. Mike Fialkovich - Pittsburgh, PA
  69. Anthony H. Bledsoe - Pittsburgh, PA
  70. Wayne Meyer - Denison, TX
  71. Colin Dobson - Jacksonville Illinois
  72. Brian E. Small -Los Angeles, CA
  73. Keith Condon -Diamond Bar, CA
  74. Alexandre Anctil - Rimouski, Qc
  75. Josh Parks - Fairbanks, Alaska
  76. Andrew Guttenberg - Bozeman, MT
  77. David Hollie - Ringgold, GA
  78. David Aronson -Greensboro, North Carolina
  79. Liza Kate Walter -Richmond, VA
  80. Liza Kate Walter - Richmond, VA
  81. Jon Atwood -Keene, NH
  82. Nicolas Bernier - Montreal
  83. Polly Pattison -Marlborough, NH
  84. Monica Nugent - New Westminster, BC
  85. Diane Porter - Fairfield, IA
  86. Dave Slager - Columbus, Ohio
  87. John Brett - Toronto, ON
  88. Andrew Lodge - Columbus, Ohio
  89. Laure Neish - Penticton, BC Canada
  90. Su Snyder - Wooster, OH
  91. Barb Robertson -Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
  92. Mark Robinson -Bainbridge Island, WA
  93. David Tattoni -Princeton, New Jersey
  94. Graham Etherington - Norwich, UK
  95. Kim Dohms - Shirley, BC
  96. David Rankin -Biddeford, ME
  97. Marc Ribaudo - Woodbridge, VA
  98. Jack Esworthy - Richmond, VA
  99. Zachary Holdery -Penobscot, ME
  100. Don Jones - Laramie, WY
  101. Margaret Smith - Boulder, CO
  102. Ryan Steiner - Smithville, OH
  103. Gabe Cohen-Glinick - Providence, RI
  104. Andrew Miller - Partridge
  105. Stephen Joly - Kamloops, BC
  106. Robert Packard - Riverside, CA
  107. John Anderson - Reno, Nevada
  108. Bob Diebold - New Jersey
  109. Mike Freund - Seattle, WA
  110. Seth Winkleman - st. louis, MO
  111. Chris Hill -Conway, SC
  112. Cedric Duhalde - Pacifica, California
  113. Josh Beck -Half Moon Bay, CA
  114. Claire Miller - Fair Oaks, CA
  115. Adrian Azpiroz - Montevideo, Uruguay
  116. Patty McKelvey - Sheffield Village, Ohio; USA
  117. George Cresswell - Colorado Springs, CO
  118. Don Pendleton -East Palo Alto, CA
  119. Kevin Hill -Shoreline, WA
  120. Brian Menker - Dayton, OH
  121. Joseph Miller - Nickerson, Ks
  122. Jilly Rodriguez Mendez - Oaxaca, Mexico
  123. Eric Antonio Martinez -Oaxaca, Mexico
  124. Joshua Vetter - Cary, NC
  125. Joseph Lautenbach -Manhattan, KS
  126. Elliot Schunke -Tallahassee, FL
  127. Robert Preston Stewart - Albuquerque, NM
  128. Chris Warren -Austin, TX
  129. Andrew Sigerson -New Paltz, NY
  130. Greg Zupansic - Eugene, Oregon
  131. Kristen Martyn - Richmond Hill, Ontario
  132. Adam Sell - Grayslake, IL
  133. Victoria Gregory - Houston
  134. Dean Gregory -Houston,TX
  135. Kim K - Silver Spring, MD
  136. Briana C. - Makanda, IL
  137. Celestyn Brozek - Albuquerque, NM
  138. Samantha S - Cleveland, OH
  139. Sebastien Rioux - Quebec city, Qc
  140. Nikki Belmonte - Roswell, GA
  141. Cheryl Lynnwood - WA
  142. Jacob Stetson -Alexandria, VA
  143. Alyssia Church - State College, PA
  144. Charles Reap - Raleigh, NC
  145. Aaron Hulsey - Bowling Green, KY
  146. michael autin - Louisville, kentucky
  147. Martin Sharp -Edmonton, Alberta
  148. Robert Lockett -Portland, Oregon
  149. Rob. Young - Alexandria, va
  150. David Stobbe -St-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Quebec
  151. Chad - Mankato, MN
  152. Steve Hampton - Davis, CA
  153. Dan Altif - Swiftwater,Pa
  154. John Hammond - Durham, NC
  155. Benjamin Shamgochian - East Providence, RI
  156. Brant Julius Port - Charlotte, FL
  157. Dustin Holschuh - Rock Falls,Il
  158. Leighann Cline - Stuarts Draft, VA
  159. Chad Propst - Annville PA
  160. Landon Neumann - Logansport, IN



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.



Pileated Woodpecker
10
Black-billed Magpie
7
Turkey Vulture
7
Canvasback
7
Redhead
4
Swainson's Hawk
3
Greater Scaup
2
Northern Flicker
2
Razorbill
2
Yellow-billed Magpie
1
White-winged Scoter
1
Sooty Shearwater
1
Snow Goose
1
Red-tailed Hawk
1
American Oystercatcher
1
Bald Eagle
1
Belted Kingfisher
1
Common Nighthawk
1
Bobolink
1
Common Loon
1
Dovekie
1
Mississippi Kite
1
 


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