After the October 2019 quiz photo, this one seems a lot more straightforward. A bird clinging to the side of a tree, right side up. Yes, there are bird species that regularly or habitually cling to the trunks of trees that aren’t woodpeckers, but the Picidae is a good place to start when one encounters such. However, it’s also good to endeavor to rule out other such birds quickly. Most other regular tree-clinging birds can be ruled out by our quiz bird’s underparts pattern, particularly the ill-defined wavy dark bars on the side. Thus, we can throw out the Sittidae (nuthatches), Certhiidae (creepers), and Yellow-throated and Pine Warblers.

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.