Mystery Birds
grrlscientist | April 8, 2009tags: Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, photographed at the Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship building in Manhattan Kansas, Photographed from the inside with the woods outside to the south. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: photographed by Thomas Manney, this image appears here at the suggestion of Dave Rintoul.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 7, 2009tags: Lazuli x Indigo Bunting Hybrid, Passerina amoena X Passerina cyanea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Lazuli x Indigo Bunting Hybrid, Passerina amoena X Passerina cyanea, photographed in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008.
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 blue bird with a conical bill can be only a Passerina bunting. The absence of cinnamon on the wing…
grrlscientist | April 6, 2009tags: Sora, Porzana carolina, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Sora, Porzana carolina, photographed in San Bernard Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 2 March 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/640s 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:
A pudgy-bodied, short-tailed, short-billed bird creeping cautiously through the marsh is a crake. Only one species,…
grrlscientist | April 5, 2009tags: Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Ferruginous Hawk, Buteo regalis, photographed on the Fort Pierre National Grasslands south of Pierre, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 16 February 2009 [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:
Here's a long-winged, long-tailed buteo with a dull white tail. For many of us, that might have been enough to…
grrlscientist | April 4, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, 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 1/1500s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Another view;
American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos, photographed in Brazos Bend State Park, Texas.
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 10 March 2009 [larger view].…
grrlscientist | April 3, 2009tags: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Polioptila caerulea, photographed in Arizona. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Richard Ditch, 24 December 2008 [larger view].
Date Time Original: 2008:12:24 08:21:25
Exposure Time: 1/200
F-Number: 5.60
ISO: 320
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | April 2, 2009tags: Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Pied-billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps, photographed in Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, 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 1/500s 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 | April 1, 2009tags: Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Screech-Owl, Otus asio, photographed at the Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship building in Manhattan Kansas [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: photographed by Thomas Manney, this image appears here at the suggestion of Dave Rintoul.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
[Mystery bird] photographed at the Unitarian/Universalist Fellowship building in Manhattan Kansas [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: photographed by Thomas…
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, 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 24, 2009tags: American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, photographed in Brazoria Wildlife Refuge, 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 1/500s 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:
How much of a bird do you need to see to identify it? Depends: on the…
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.