November 2020 Photo Quiz

Tony Leukering
Fairborn, OH
greatgrayowl@aol.com

This month’s quiz bird is badly lit, which might cause us some problems identifying it. It looks like a relatively small bird. That is, it’s certainly not something as big as an eagle or pelican, not even as big as a Red-tailed Hawk – it just lacks the “presence” of such a beast. The bill looks small and the primary projection looks long. The underparts are streaked, and it seems to have some sort of pale stripe on the face, and, oddly, it seems to be below the eye. That pale stripe is one of the two aspects of this species that is rare in ABA-Area passerine birds. In fact, only one other ABA-Area species shares it, and that species is a congener.

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.