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ABA Photo Quiz

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 58

Answer

Bird Photo

Among the 10 species guessed in this month's photo quiz, chickadees figured prominently with five species hypothesized.

Even those who didn't suggest chickadees suggested similar birds—White-breasted Nuthatch (which can be eliminated by the lack of rufous near the vent, and paler grayish upperparts with a slight olive wash); Red-breasted Nuthatch (also eliminated by this bird's paler upperparts and more extensive white edging to the flight feathers). Gray Jay was the only other species that received more than one vote (which is ruled out by shape and structure as well as the pale buff wash to the flanks and extensive black coming down the back of the head).

So this leaves us with chickadees—a group that was likely chosen because of the combination of structure, black on the head and a buff wash to the flanks. Looking carefully at the head, we can see a slight black line that runs through the white—a feature that is visible on both sides of the head. The only species that shows this (along with previously mentioned traits) is the Mountain Chickadee. The wash of buff to the flanks is typical of the nominate wide-ranging gambeli, subspecies of the northern and Rocky Mountains.

This Mountain Chickadee was photographed in along the Arkansas River in Fremont County, Colorado during December 2007.

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The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the January Bird Photo Quiz—Mountain Chickadee:

  1. Joshua Watson, Gainesville, FL
  2. John Gluth, Brentwood, NY
  3. Philip Kline, Tucson, AZ
  4. Greg Lawrence, Rochester, NY
  5. Joshua Christian, Hutchinson, MN
  6. Aaron Hulsey, Smiths Grove, Ky
  7. Jim Kopitzke, Mesa AZ
  8. Kevin Bolton, Prospect Park New Jersey
  9. Kai reed, vermont
  10. Andrew Fayer, Fort Washington, PA
  11. Urs Geiser, Woodridge, Illinois
  12. Brandon Percival, Pueblo West, CO
  13. Stephen Joly, Kamloops, BC
  14. Nathan Swick, Chapel Hill, NC
  15. Bret McCarty, Lakewood, OH
  16. Sam Galick, Flemington, NJ
  17. Georgia Conti, Seattle, WA
  18. Terri Everett, Big Rapids, MI
  19. Malkolm Boothroyd, Whitehorse, Yukon
  20. Amy St.Pierre, Kelly, WY
  21. Thomas Lechleitner, Fort Lupton, Colorado
  22. John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH
  23. Ana Komro, West Bend, WI
  24. Greg Schrott, Sebring, FL
  25. kurt Pohlman, kaneohe Hi.
  26. Jonathan Comeau, Williston, VT
  27. Leslie Rountree, Fayetteville, GA
  28. Benoit Dorion, Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada
  29. Suzie Bulger, Cotati, CA
  30. Brian McAllister, Saranac Lake, NY
  31. Joshua Covill, Columbia Falls, MT
  32. David Bell, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
  33. Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA
  34. Nell Haberman, Portland, Oregon
  35. Rick Poulin, Ottawa, Ontario
  36. Thomas Snetsinger, Brownsville, OR
  37. Mike Gurr, Toronto, Ontario
  38. Joseph Lautenbach, Grand Rapids, MI
  39. Sophie Cauchon, La Prairie, QC, CAN
  40. André Pelletier, La Prairie, QC, CAN
  41. Ian Davies, Medford, MA
  42. Dave Tietjen, Owens Cross Roads, AL
  43. Chris Warren, Portland, OR
  44. Szilard J. Daroczi, Tg.-Mures, Romania
  45. George F. Cresswell, Colorado Springs, CO
  46. Kathy Dawson, Laverne, Oklahoma
  47. Dave Magpiong, Bellmawr, NJ
  48. Robert Mottershead, Philadelphia, PA
  49. Krista Sorra, Albuquerque, NM
  50. Alan Dupuis, Cambridge, NY
  51. Tom Lally, Chicago, IL
  52. Amanda Auger, Portland, OR
  53. Chris West, Richland Center, WI
  54. Marc Ribaudo, Woodbridge, VA
  55. gary koehn, colorado springs, colorado
  56. Thomas Hall, Livermore, Colorado
  57. Glenn L.Werner, Beaufort, South Carolina
  58. Mark Rosenstein, Cambridge, MA
  59. Steve Hampton, Davis, CA
  60. Richard Garrigues, San Antonio de Belen, Heredia, Costa Rica
  61. Matt Baumann, ABQ,NM
  62. Larry Kline, Fredericksburg, VA
  63. Melissa Hein, North Branch, MN
  64. Katherine Ross, Anchorage, AK
  65. Owen McMurtrey, Chicago, IL
  66. Kevin M Hill, Shoreline, WA
  67. Avery Bartels, Nelson, BC, Canada
  68. Anthony H. Bledsoe, Pittsburgh, PA
  69. Mikey Lutmerding, Salisbury, PA
  70. Blake Mathys, Milltown, NJ
  71. Brad Wilkinson, Tallmadge, OH
  72. Graham Etherington, Norwich, UK
  73. Mike Wasilco, Scottsville, NY
  74. Yves Gauthier, Montreal, Qc, Canada
  75. Adrian Azpiroz, St. Louis, MO
  76. Haynes A Werner, Beaufort, S.C.
  77. Joshua D. Kreitzer, St. George, UT
  78. Henry Trombley, Bristol, VT
  79. Marcelo Brongo, Barcelona, Spain
  80. Grant Gardner, Ottumwa, Iowa
  81. Sydney Bliss, Sackville, New Brunswick
  82. Jeff Vinosky, Fairless Hills, PA
  83. Michael Woodruff, Spokane, WA
  84. Marcel Gauthier, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC, Canada
  85. Dominic Cormier, Halifax, N.S
  86. Cynthia Taylor, Tucson, AZ
  87. Ryan Hargett, Corfu,NY
  88. Eric Huston, Tumwater, WA
  89. John Bissell, Grimes, Iowa
  90. John Garrett, Pasadena, CA
  91. Jonathan Lautenbach, Grand Rapids, MI
  92. Kevin Welsh, Novi, Michigan
  93. Thomas Collins, Pittsfield, Ma.
  94. Paul Watson, St Georges, Bermuda
  95. Brad Hammond, Brooksville, Florida
  96. Alexander Lin-Moore, Houston, TX
  97. Greg Zupansic, Eugene, Oregon
  98. Sean Williams, Boston, MA
  99. Nancy E. Hetrick, Albuquerque, NM
  100. Matthew Daw, Raleigh, NC
  101. Su Snyder, Wooster, OH
  102. Philip Chaon, Cleveland, OH
  103. Mike Burrell, Heidelberg, ON
  104. Alex Dopp, Ann Arbor, MI
  105. Alejandro, Surrey,BC
  106. Keith Barker, St. Paul, MN
  107. Niko Ranta, Clackamas, Oregon
  108. Judy Markowsky, Orono, ME
  109. John Blok, Kalamazoo, MI
  110. Tim Kalbach, Leadville, Colorado
  111. Travis A. Mahan, Decatur, IL
  112. Scott Huber, Forest Ranch, California
  113. Chad Heins, Mankato, MN
  114. Marieke Slovin, Rockport, WA.
  115. Tim McFadden, Southampton, Pa
  116. Steve Tucker, San Francisco, CA
  117. Julie Hart, Hartland, VT
  118. Pam Baum, Tucson, AZ
  119. Priscilla Lai, Guelph, Ontario
  120. James McKay, Mesa, AZ
  121. Luke Buckardt, Deerfield, IL
  122. Diane Demers, Montr√©al, Québec (Canada)
  123. Matthew Schneider, Silverton, OR
  124. Joel Mundall, Loma Linda, CA
  125. Steven Mitten, Belize City, Belize
  126. Sarah J. Zastrow, Riverdale, MD
  127. Travis Cooper, San Diego, CA
  128. Robert Doster, Albuquerque, NM
  129. Olaf Soltau, New Preston, CT
  130. L. Long, Chandler, AZ
  131. Tim Hochstetler, Millersburg OH
  132. Joshua Malueg, Hooper, Colorado
  133. David Irons, Eugene, Oregon
  134. Katrina M. Weber, El Paso, TX
  135. Shawn T. Dash, El paso Texas
  136. Chris Charlesworth, Kelowna, BC, Canada
  137. Robert Furrow, Somerville, MA
  138. Thomas Halverstadt, Louviers,Co
  139. Linda Swanson, San Francisco, CA
  140. John Hammond, Durham, NC
  141. Myles Falconer, Lakefield, ONTARIO
  142. Eric Antonio Martinez, Oaxaca, Mexico
  143. Tim Hajda, Broken Bow, NE
  144. Eddie Mundall, Yreka, CA
  145. Cinda Crosley, Pflugerville, TX
  146. Lowell Young, Mariposa

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.

Mountain Chickadee
146
Black-capped Chickadee
98
Carolina Chickadee
14
White-breasted Nuthatch
11
Gray Jay
6
Red-breasted Nuthatch
4
Boreal Chickadee
1
Gray Catbird
1
Mexican Chickadee
1
White-collared Seedeater
1

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The photo and answer for this quiz were supplied by Chris Wood.