• Current Quiz
• Bird Quiz Form
• Prize Winners!
• Past Quizzes
• Bird Quiz Rules
• ABA Checklist

ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 80

Answer

[+] Click Image for Larger Version

An incredible variety of raptor species (21 at last count) was provided as answers for this quiz; those folks were in the right group and a plurality of those got to the correct species. In my opinion, the tail pattern is the best starting point to get at the correct answer, as it's quite distinctive. There just aren't that many raptors with white bands on a dark tail, at least once one gets away from the kites, accipiters, and falcons. Since the tail appears relatively short, particularly compared to the long wings, we can rule out the accipiters. And, though the wings are long, they're much too broad with too broad and rounded of a hand for them to belong to a falcon; at least, a "typical" falcon in the genus Falco. The bird shows at least four fingers, which is definitely not a trait of that genus, nor of Ictinia (the genus of Mississippi and Plumbeous kites); Hook-billed Kite sports seven fingers and lacks such long wings.

Upon closer scrutiny, the white tail bands are bars on the inner web only of the various rectrices. That the above is true means that if the tail weren't at least partly spread, we wouldn't see the white bits from the top side, we would see just an overall darkish tail. This pattern is shown by only three ABA-area raptors, the quiz species, Mississippi Kite, and Merlin (and only a small percentage of the last species exhibit the trait).

Other features that we might have used to arrive at the correct species include wing shape and wing posture. The bird has very long wings, but though the close wingtip is somewhat rounded, it doesn't sport anywhere near as many fingers as do really round-winged raptors (and round-winged raptors tend to have shorter wings). And, though the picture's angle isn't the best for seeing this feature, we can still see that the wings angle a bit up from the body and then down at the wrist.

I took this picture of an adult female Osprey at Cape Island Preserve (TNC), Cape May Co., NJ, on 31 March 2009. I know that it was a female because a male was being quite noisy courting her for a very long time (see www.flickr.com/photos/tony_leukering/3403397258/in/set-72157603872645406/ -- she is present in scene 14 in that composite picture)

~~~~~~~~

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