ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 31
Answer
The challenging combination of dense vegetation and active birds can make bird identification tricky. In this case it's hard to make out a lot on this bird. Usually we use structure and size, with a lot of focus on the head and bill, but that's not so straightforward in this photo. When identifying birds, sometimes it's necessary to use different strategies. In this case, perhaps looking for a prominent field mark or two will help us.
Two things stand out: a wash of yellow to the sides of the breast and the yellow near the base of the tail. There really aren't many birds that have this combination of traits. Magnolia Warbler is similar, but the dark tail tip should be offset with white and most should show more obvious narrow white wing bars. The underparts should also be more strongly marked in yellow. The other species is American Redstart. While most individuals are more brightly colored, many first year birds can be comparatively dull. The grayish head that contrasts with the olive wings is also a classic trait of female and immature male American Redstarts.
This first-fall female American Redstart was photographed in late September in Champaign Co., Illinois.
~~~~~~~~
The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the October Bird Photo Quiz—American Redstart:
- Graham Etherington, Norwich, UK
- Bill Schmoker, Longmont, Colorado
- Kyle Horner, Guelph, On
- Marcelo Brongo, Barcelona, Spain
- Aaron Bilyeu, Placerville, CA
- Kevin Kerr, Guelph, ON
- Jason Sailing, Madison, WI
- Tom Archdeacon, Tucson, AZ
- Matt Anthony, Bel Air, MD
- Aaron Boone, Columbus, Ohio
- Orrin Harvey, Tucson, AZ
- Robert Furrow, Cambridge, MA
- Nick Sly, Ithaca, NY
- Wayne Meyer, Denison, TX
- Francisco Martinez, chicago, IL
- Henry Wilton, Rutland, VT
- Alison Rodgers, Corrales, NM
- Bryan Patrick, Woodland Park, CO
- Nikolas Kotovich, Great Barrington, Mass
- Tracy McCarthey, Tempe, Arizona
- Steven Mitten, Belize City, Belize
- Nick Anich, Ashland, WI
- Daniel Floyd, Fort Worth, TX
- Gabe Johnson, Cherry Hill, New Jersey
- David Hollie, Ringgold, GA
- Tom Benson, San Bernardino, CA
- Jay Keller, Arlington, Virginia
- Mary Chambers, Davis, CA
- Kevin Welsh, Novi, Michigan
- Philip Kline, Tucson, AZ
- Tim Avery, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Alex Vinokur, Casselberry, FL
- Brandon Percival, Pueblo West, Colorado
- Claude Girard, St-Michel. P.Q.
- Melissa Hein, North Branch, MN
- Richard Garrigues, San Antonio de Belen, Heredia, Costa Rica
- Sam Pratt, Inman, SC
- Jason Giovannone, Columbia, SC
- Gary Potter, Sanger, CA
- Brian E. Small, Los Angeles, CA
- Will Richardson, Truckee, CA
- Sarah Young, Albuquerque, NM
- Mike Stake, Albuquerque, NM
- Luke Buckardt, Deerfield, IL
- Noah Strycker, Creswell, OR
- Daniele Mitchell, Ottawa, Ontario
- manuel Grosselet, Mexico
- Michael Lester, Haworth, NJ
- Nathan Swick, Chapel Hill, NC
- Oscar Johnson, Ventura, California
- rob young, alexandria, VA
- Brian Kleinman, East Granby, CT
- Ryan Dudragne, Saskatoon, SK
- Tom Lally, Chicago, IL
- Jacob Socolar, Chapel Hill, NC
- Arun Bose, Richmond, VA
- Mary Ann Dudragne, Swift Current, Sk.
- Laurent Dudragne, Swift Current, Sk.
- Tim White, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Maggie MacPherson, Guelph
- Petro Pynnönen, Helsinki, Finland
- JEREMY FAUCHER, ENFIELD CT
- Ken Levenstein, Jonesboro, AR
- Lori Fujimoto, Colorado Springs, CO
- Kara Lewantowicz, Colorado Springs, CO
- Zack Barrow, TN
- Dave Worthington, Toronto, Ontario,
- Matt Baumann, ABQ,NM
- Travis A. Mahan, Decatur, IL
- Jim Kopitzke, Mesa AZ
- Robert Lengacher, Tallahassee, FL
- Bonnie Reimer, Madison, Wisconsin
- Francesc Jutglar, Cardedeu, Catalonia, Spain
- Michael Woodruff, Spokane, WA
- Mark Stevenson, Tucson, AZ
- Bruce Dugger, Albany, OR
- Jason Beason, Paonia, CO
- Chris Benson, Rochester, MN
- Bill Maynard, Monument, CO
- Patty Gates, Brooklyn, NY
- Marcel Gauthier, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada
- Krista S., Albuquerque, NM
- Glenn Werner, Beaufort, S.C.
- Haynes Werner, Beaufort, S.C.
- Alex Lin-Moore, Houston, TX
- Tim McFadden, Philadelphia, Pa
- Yves Gauthier, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH
- Johanna Wielfaert, East Lansing, Michigan
- Pamela Denise Fisher, Gap, Pennsylvania
- Alan J. Knue, Seattle, WA
- Stephen Seiffert, Lansdown, Ontario Canada
- Evelyn Ralston, Bethesda, MD
- Luke Seitz, Falmouth, ME
- Claire Curry, Greenwood, Texas
- Thomas Riecke, Dallas, TX
- Barb Duncan, Jefferson City, MO
- Tony Leukering, Brighton, CO
- Jim Gilbert, Bernardsville, NJ
- Rich Trissel, Carmel, CA
- Marcia Huff, Holland, MI
- Karen Rubinstein, New York, NY
- Jim Hoover, Jefferson Hills, PA
- Capt. John M. Nelson, Vineyard Haven, MA
- TJ Hathcock, Cleveland, OK
- Vicki Sandage, Ashland, KY
- George W. Myers, Villas, New Jersey
- George Cresswell, Colorado Springs, CO
- José Luis Copete, Barcelona, Spain
- Matt Pike, Lacey WA
- Mark A. Corder, Olathe, Kansas
- Kendall Green, Brooklyn, NY
- Micah Malueg, Hooper, Colorado.
- Kalen Malueg, Hooper, Colorado.
- Josiah Malueg, Hooper, Colorado.
- Neil A. Gilbert, Beverly Hills, Mi
- Bobby Fokidis, Tempe, Arizona
- Matthew Toomey, Tempe, Arizona
- Jacob Saucier, Baton Rouge, LA
- James Restivo, Groton, CT
- Andrew VanNorstrand, Fulton, NY
- Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, VA
- Phillip J. Kenny, Vienna, VA
- Jason Waanders, Washington, DC
- John Murphy, Alligator Pt, FL
- Rachel King, Brooklyn NY
- Lori Conrad, Hermosa Beach, CA
- Tom Auer, Duluth, MN
- James McKay, Mesa, AZ
- Mary Gustafson, Mission, Texas
- Cin-Ty Lee, Houston, TX
- Lee Barnes, Seattle, WA
- Mike Clarke, Bloomington, IN
- Casey Tucker, Columbus, OH
- Nathan Miller, Kingston, ON
- Michael S. Levy, Centereach, N.Y.
- Ted Zegarra, Kingman, AZ
- Andrea Green, Fayetteville, AR
- Avi Kenny, Dobbs Ferry, NY
- Rich Swartzentruber, Salem, Oregon
- Liis Veelma, Winnipeg, MB
- Cynthia Taylor, Tucson, AZ
- Greg Zupansic, Eugene, Oregon
- Anthony Laquidara, Plainsboro, NJ
- Matthew Schneider, Silverton, OR
- Bob Fish, Creswell, OR
- Jessica L Fusek, Boise, ID
- Shannon Ehlers, St. Peters, Mo
- David T Liebers, Niskayuna, NY
- Bonnie Liebers, Niskayuna, NY
- Carol Perry, Las Vegas, NV
- Blake Matheson, Carmel, CA
- Kevin Hill, Seattle, WA
- Jon Atwood, Keene, NH
- Sarah De Viney, Jonesboro, Arkansas
- Aaron Brees, Des Moines, IA
- Matt Liebers, Niskayuna, NY
- Myles Falconer, Peterborough, ON
- Benjamin Wechsler, Snow Hill, Maryland
- Tom Bailey, Tabernacle, NJ
- Andy Bankert, Melbourne Beach, FL
- Chris Elliott, Mineral, VA
- Josh Southern, Greenville, NC
- Anthony H. Bledsoe, Pittsburgh, PA
- Andrew Keaveney, Guelph, Ontario
- Keith Condon, Diamond Bar, CA
- Seth Cutright, West Bend, Wisconsin
- Cindy Lippincott, ColoSpgs CO
- Thomas Schultz, Green Lake, WI
- Larry Ridenhour, Boise, Idaho
- Andrés Alfaro, Kansas City, MO
- jared caster, NY
- Larry Lade, Saint Joseph, Missouri
- Eve Cusack, Bloomington, Indiana
- Asher Hockett, Ithaca NY
- Tony Frank, Houston, Texas
- Tim Snieder, Sarnia, Ontario
- Mike Burchett, Morgantown, WV
- Ben Meadors, North Little Rock, Arkansas
- Michael Hilchey, Albuquerque, NM
- Roxanne Clark, Eugene, OR
- Dan Skoubye, Colorado Springs, CO
- Adrián Azpiroz, St. Louis, MO
- Ryan, British Columbia
- Tammy White, Aliso Viejo, CA
- Ben Coulter, Erie, PA
- Carrie Braden, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada
- Ed Harper, Sacramento, CA
- Michael McCloy, Southern Pines, NC
- Elaine Kampmueller, Grand Rapids, MI
- Krzysztof Szal, Wheeling, IL
- Gary Bird, Maxeys, GA
- Bobby Walsh, Valencia, CA
- Joel Mundall, Loma Linda, CA
- Bob Power, Oakland, CA
- Christian Friis, Long Point, Ontario, Canada
- Chuck Carlson, Ft. Peck MT
- Manolo Mondejar, Taos,NM
- Matt Dufort, Seattle, WA
- Katherine Raspet, NY
- Gregory Gough, Washington, DC
- Jim Hulsey, Henderson, NV
- Stephen Joly, Kamloops, BC
- William gilmour, Scarborough,Ontario,Canada
- Al Mercer, Marietta, GA
- James P. Smith, Amherst, MA
- Sandra Lautrup, Effingham, Il.
- Dave Robichaud, Victoria, BC
- Craig Bateman, Novi, MI
- Mark Chao, Ithaca, NY
- Eric Skrzypczak, Gaithersburg, MD
- Blue Rubinstein, New York, NY
- Tim Hochstetler, Millersburg, Ohio
- Cathy Carroll, Dearborn, Michigan
- Raymond VanBuskirk, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Michael Retter, Normal, IL
- Nicholas Block, Bryan, TX
- Craig Dodson, Clifton, CO
- Ben Young, Salem, OR
- Mark Brown, Dalmatia, Pennsylvania
- Megumi Yoshihara, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
- Chris Brown, Cape May, NJ
- Peter Gibert, Davis, CA
- Amanda Auger, Portland, OR
- Tom Kelly, Chicago, IL
- Seth Miller, Petaluma, CA
- Mark Peterson, Colorado Springs, CO
- Marcus Mundall, Williamsport, MD
- April Mundall, Williamsport, MD
- Julie Hart, Chester, VT
- Matthew Medler, Charlotte, VT
- Kyle Carlsen, Vincent, OH
- Karen Carlsen, Lakewood, CO
- Roger Woodruff, Spokane, WA
- Anne Brown, Durham, NC
- Eddie Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR
- Laurina Mundall, Klamath Falls, OR
- Robert Doster, Albuquerque, NM
- David Pavlik, Holt, Michigan
- Roberto Cavalieros, Brooklyn, NY
- Dave Magpiong, Bellmawr, NJ
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.
- American Redstart
- 241
- Tufted Titmouse
- 6
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- 6
- Northern Parula
- 5
- Black-capped Chickadee
- 2
- Cassin's Vireo
- 2
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- 2
- Virginia's Warbler
- 2
- Bell's Vireo
- 1
- Black-capped Vireo
- 1
- Eastern Bluebird
- 1
- Eastern Phoebe
- 1
- Nashville Warbler
- 1
- Ruddy Turnstone
- 1
- Tennessee Warbler
- 1
- Verdin
- 1
- Vermilion Flycatcher
- 1
- Warbling Vireo
- 1
- Yellow Warbler
- 1
- Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
- 1
~~~~~~~~
The photo and answer for this quiz were supplied by Chris Wood.