At least this month’s quiz bird is not flying!

Then again, the identification might be easier had the bird been in flight when I clicked the photo. But don’t be discouraged, as many ID-critical features can be discerned. With the overall shape, size, and gross plumage features, we can throw away the front half of the field guide—not literally, please. This month’s quiz bird is native to the ABA Area, and it is a passerine, the order (Passeriformes) that houses well over half of the birds of the world.

As with many of the quiz photos I provide in this venue, knowing more than just the well-known two or three characters will be critical to solving this quiz.

 

Photos and answers are supplied by Tony Leukering, a field ornithologist based in in Colorado. He has strong interests in bird migration, distribution, and identification. He has worked for five different bird observatories from coast to coast, has conducted hawk counts in Michigan, New Jersey, Colorado, and Texas, and seabird counts in Michigan, New Jersey, and California. Tony considers himself particularly adept at taking quiz photos—that is to say, bad pictures! He is a member of the Oklahoma Bird Records Committee, is a past member of the Colorado and New Jersey committees, and was a long-time reviewer for eBird. Tony is also interested in most everything else animalian that flies, particularly moths and odonates.