To refresh your memory, here is the photo from November’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Colorado during the month of December. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
Tag: ID
November’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado during December (and yes, that’s the initial view I got).
October Quiz: Answer
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from October’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Louisiana during the month of January. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
October’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Louisiana in January.
September Quiz: Answer
To refresh your memory, here is the photo from September’s Bird Quiz. It was taken in Colorado during the month of September. Don’t read any further if you want one last chance to identify this bird.
September’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado during September.
August’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado during May.
July’s Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Washington during September.
June’s Bird Quiz
Goodness, I haven’t posted a bird quiz since March. In case you’ve been missing the fun, here is one for June. Can you identify this duck? The photo was taken at the end of December on South Padre Island in southern Texas. My answer will appear next Monday.
How to Name a Bird, Part 2
If you missed last Monday’s Part 1, be sure to read that post first. Now I’ll continue with my identification checklist.
What does it look like?
This is the obvious one, but even here there are often too many details to take them all in at once. I usually start with color, and “general impression of size and shape” (GISS). Are there any obvious marks that might narrow things down?
If the bird is still posing for me, I move to the details. What color is the eye, and is there an eye-ring? What about the beak? Long or short, pointed (for bug-catching) or wedge-shaped (for seed-cracking), curving or straight? On a sitting bird, do the wings protrude past the tail? What color are the legs and feet? Is there anything else that stands out?
Mountain Plover 