Small birds from behind: a photo quiz [incl. answers]

Update: Answers are in the comments, below.

Birding during fall migration this year has reminded me, yet again, of how the brief looks at birds we get are often from an angle that makes normal field guides near useless. Here are five images of birds that don’t show their faces–see if you can figure them out. Leave a comment!

Edit: Careful–not all of these birds are necessarily warblers! 😉

New York, late September

Connecticut, early October

New York, mid October

Connecticut, mid October

Connecticut, mid October

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Photo Quiz #3 (and #2 answer)

Sorry for the lack of posts lately — I haven’t been able to get out birding much and when I have it’s been pretty unremarkable…

So to make up for that, here’s another quiz!

Send your name and answer (the common name of the bird) to nimajneb3@gmail.com. Please don’t post in the comments, since everyone will see your answer. Deadline is April 4, and the answer will be posted on April 5.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Note: This photo was taken by me within the ABA area (basically North America north of Mexico).

Previous Quiz (#2) Answer

This was the picture.

I have to apologize for this one; I thought it wouldn’t be so difficult, but it’s hard to think from the perspective of someone looking at the picture when you know what the bird is already!

Bottom line: no one got it right (from 5 responses).

It’s fairly obvious from looking at the bird that it’s a warbler (small, yellowish), but which one? The responses I got were split between Orange-crowned Warbler and members of the Oporonis genus (namely MacGillivray’s, Mourning, and Connecticut Warblers).

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Photo Quiz #2 (and answer to #1)

New Quiz

Send your name and answer (the common name of the bird) to nimajneb3@gmail.com. Please don’t post in the comments, since everyone will see your answer. Deadline is March 19, and the answer will be posted on March 20.

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Note: This photo was taken by me within the ABA area (basically North America north of Mexico).

Previous Quiz (#1) Answer

Previous Quiz Photo

When first looking at the picture, it is evident that the bird is a raptor (large, standing upright in a tree, large hooked bill). It is a very heavily streaked bird, and, as is hinted by its location on a nest, is a juvenile. Only three raptor species in the ABA area have a juvenile plumage consistent with heavy dark markings throughout: Gray Hawk, Common Black-Hawk, and Snail Kite. The former two reside mainly in Arizona and New Mexico, while the latter is restricted only to certain areas in Florida.

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