February 2021 Photo Quiz

Tony Leukering
Fairborn, OH
greatgrayowl@aol.com

Click to enlarge

This head-hidden bird suddenly sailing by gives one little time to get a bead on the beast’s identification. However, the mental image one retains after it is gone presents a couple pale areas, with one in the outer primaries and the other on the tail and, possibly, including the upper-tail coverts. Surely, one might think, a sizable bird with an odd mix of brown and black upperparts plumage and those distinctive pale patches gliding on slightly arched wings ought to be distinctive. I would agree.

What species is represented here?

Photos and answers are supplied by Tony Leukering, a field ornithologist based in southeast Colorado, with strong interests in bird migration, distribution, and identification. He has worked for five different bird observatories from coast to coast and considers himself particularly adept at taking quiz photos (that is, bad pictures!). Leukering is a member of the Colorado Bird Records Committee and had been a reviewer for eBird since its inception. He is also interested in most everything else that flies, particularly moths and odonates.