Photo Courtesy of Andy Bankert
Answer to Photo Quiz 2: Fast wing beat, long bill, and small size make this a hummingbird. Drab appearance make it immature or female. This bird’s long, thin body shape rules out Anna’s and Calliope. Costa’s are on the stockier side as well. Note that Broad-billeds have flesh-color at the base of the mandible. Broad-tailed sports more cinnamon on the sides. This bird has more dingy color below, lighter green upper sides, and a slightly longer and more decurved bill than Ruby-throat. This, combined with the plain cheek and dull cap, suggests BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD.
This photo was taken on July 9th 2008 in Portal, AZ
For shorebirds such as this, I generally look at bill shape/length first. This bird’s bill looks medium-sized, fairly thick, and slightly “swollen” at the tip. That pretty much clinches it as a Red Knot. Just taking a look at plumage and molt, the scapulars and wing coverts appear to be of mixed age and wear, meaning that it is an adult in basic (non-breeding) plumage. The only other possibility would be juvenal plumage or that it is in the middle of a molt, as it is obviously not in the showy colors of the Red Knot’s alternate (breeding) plumage. If… Read more »
I think this bird is a RED KNOT.
This shorebird’s bill has the right length and color for a Red Knot. The bill is too short for both dowitchers, and Stilt Sandpipers have too de-curved of a bill. There are also a number of sandpipers that have bills too short for this quiz bird, such as Sanderling, Pectoral Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird’s Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, etc. The back, wings, and head are pale gray, and it has white under-parts with faint speckles on the breast, and greenish yellow legs like a Red Knot.
Fairly obviously a Scolopacid (Sandpipers and allies), the rounded head, medium length bill, general body structure and rather long legs calls to mind a Calidris sandpiper. The rather long-bodied look and longer bill and legs rules out the smaller peeps such as Semipalmated and Baird’s Sandpipers. Also, the bill doesn’t look long enough and the supercilium isn’t prominent enough to be a Dowitcher. That leaves only a few possibilities. Curlew Sandpiper has a much more prominently curved bill. Stilt Sandpiper usually has a longer, more decurved bill and slightly darker legs than this bird displays. That leaves Pectoral Sandpiper and… Read more »
Red Knot