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grrlscientist | March 31, 2009tags: Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivali, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivali, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 19 January 2009 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L lens.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
The angled commissure of emberizid buntings always makes them look like they're smiling, don't you think? The bright white plumage, pale…
grrlscientist | March 30, 2009tags: Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis, photographed during a snowstorm on Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park, Olympic Peninsula, Washington [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Lee Rentz, March 2009.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A big fluffy gray bird in the north woods is almost certainly a Gray Jay. Even from this angle, we can see the contrasting dark cap that confirms…
grrlscientist | March 29, 2009tags: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, photographed near Brookings, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 October 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
My usual admonition to start at the rear seems just a bit too obvious with this bird: the combination of a long, forficate…
grrlscientist | March 28, 2009tags: Blue-winged Teal, Anas dicors, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors, photographed in Brazos Bend State Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/400s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
The white "fender" patch, bright brown sides, and gray head and neck quickly identify this shy…
grrlscientist | March 27, 2009tags: Suomenlinna, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Footprints in the snow.
Photographed on Suomenlinna on Kalevalapaäivä (Kalevala Day).
This is one of my favorite places to visit in Helsinki, Finland.
Image: GrrlScientist, 28 February 2009 [larger view].
grrlscientist | March 27, 2009Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:11:25 09:28:46
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A plump, somewhat long-tailed chicken-like bird on a desert substrate can only be a quail. Distinguishing some of the New World…
grrlscientist | March 26, 2009tags: Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, photographed in San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A diminutive, brightly colored bird makes us think of a wood warbler, and the black throat and crown point us in the direction of the "…
grrlscientist | March 25, 2009tags: Red-legged Thrush, Turdus plumbeus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-legged Thrush, Turdus plumbeus, photographed near Ceiba, Puerto Rico [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dennis Paulson, 11 March 2009 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
This is a pretty bird, and one quickly identifiable to genus for anyone who knows, say, American Robin or Song Thrush. The Turdus thrushes are large, alert-looking birds with long and…
grrlscientist | March 23, 2009tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 7 July 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:07:07 07:19:59
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
We're usually so distracted by the bright colors of a hummingbird's head that we forget to start at the rear. In this…
grrlscientist | March 22, 2009tags: Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans, photographed on Pacific Coast in San Francisco, California. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
A plain gray bird with a neatly set-off white belly and some white in the wings. White-winged Junco, right? Here's a great exercise…
grrlscientist | March 21, 2009tags: Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes aurifrons, photographed in Allen Williams Yard, Pharr, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/800s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
I haven't had a chance to test it, but my hunch is that even…
grrlscientist | March 20, 2009tags: Lawrence's Goldfinch, Carduelis lawrencei, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lawrence's Goldfinch, Carduelis lawrencei, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 10 April 2005 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2005:04:10 09:16:02
Exposure Time: 1/249
F-Number: 11.00
ISO: 200
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 16, 2009tags: Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Cave Swallow, Petrochelidon fulva, photographed at the Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 18 February 2008 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 15, 2009tags: Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, photographed on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 4 January 2009 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 13, 2009tags: Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Field Sparrow, Spizella pusilla, photographed at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 30 September 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
The identification of sparrows got a lot easier in 1990, when Kenn Kaufman's Advanced Birding codified what he calls "the generic…
grrlscientist | March 9, 2009tags: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed in Starr County Park, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 5 April 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/1000s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Now here's a little bird, barely bigger than the menacing thorns it's paused…
grrlscientist | March 7, 2009tags: Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus microstictus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Streak-backed Oriole, Icterus pustulatus microstictus, photographed at the Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 15 December 2006 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Rick Wright, Managing Director of WINGS Birding Tours Worldwide, writes:
Any doubt that this is an oriole? Good. Confused about just what an oriole is? Better.
The English word was first applied, naturally…
grrlscientist | March 5, 2009tags: Attwater's Prairie Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido attwateri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Attwater's Prairie Chicken, Tympanuchus cupido attwateri, photographed in Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 6 December 2008 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 4, 2009tags: Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Brewer's Sparrow, Spizella breweri, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:03:13 09:12:01
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 8.00
ISO: 400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | March 2, 2009tags: Pine Siskin, Carduelis pinus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pine Siskin, Carduelis pinus, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 16 April 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:04:16 08:46:29
Exposure Time: 1/319
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.