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ABA Online Bird Photo Quiz 62
ANSWER
Virtually all responses were of raptors this month, so we'll start our answer with that correct
assumption. Unlike, perhaps, the majority of birders, experienced hawk-watchers know that shape
and flight style are the features used most often to identify raptors, usually because the
distances at which many are seen preclude detailed plumage analysis. So, despite our wonderfully
close and good view of the quiz bird, I will start with the bird's structure.
This month's quiz bird has fairly long wings and a long tail, all of which are accentuated by the
slim build. These features should rule out most of the buteos off the bat, except for, perhaps,
Swainson's and Zone-tailed hawks. Most of the falcons can also be eliminated from consideration
by the shape of the wingtip, an oddly pointed and rounded wingtip. All but the largest of our
Falco should show more pointed wingtips. The aberrant falcon Crested Caracara has long, rounded
wings, but they're more rounded and more parallel-sided than those of our quiz bird. The
relative tail length is well within the ranges of at least a couple of our accipiters, but the
wings are just too long for any of those. Even if the actual wing length was within the range of
any of the accipiters, the ratio of wing length to tail length on our mystery bird is quite
different from that of any ABA-area accipiter. Eagles can be ruled out in total from our bird's
shape. The pointed-winged kites are ruled out by wing shape and the round-winged kites are ruled
out, well, by wing shape (they have much wider-based wings than does our quiz bird). All this
elimination and ruling out leaves us with Osprey, Northern Harrier, Swainson's and Zone-tailed
hawks, and Gyrfalcon.
Now, onto plumage features. Our bird's extensive tawny aspect of the underparts, the somewhat
distinct contrast between the dark inner wing and the paler outer wing, the lack of a distinct
dark wingtip and/or trailing edge is a perfect fit for only one of our remaining candidates:
Northern Harrier. Osprey, of course, is always mostly white-bodied and the two buteos sport
quite different underwing patterns; Gyrfalcons are never tawny. The body coloration tells us that
the bird is a juvenile and the fairly broad wings and darker wingtip suggests that it is a female
(males have narrower wings and more silvery wingtips). Adult female Northern Harriers are
whiter-bodied with more distinct brown streaking on the chest.
Many birders that don't visit hawk watches are often thrown for a loop by high-flying migrant
harriers, because many of them identify the species on the presence of a single field character,
the white rump; which, of course, is not visible from below. However, experienced hawk watchers
can identify these birds by their shape at incredible distances (certainly >2 miles), as the
combination of long wings AND long tail is not very common among raptors. I took this picture of
a juvenile female Northern Harrier flying over the Cape May, NJ, hawk watch in September 2005.
~~~~~~~~
The following people (listed by submission date beginning with the earliest) submitted correct answers for the May Bird Photo Quiz – Northern Harrier:
- Rich Swartzentruber, Salem, Oregon
- Tim Hodge, Roseland, VA
- Rick Poulin, Ottawa. Ontario
- Josh Southern, Apex, NC
- Brendan Fogarty, Hempstead, NY
- Corey Husic, Kunkletown, PA
- Joshua Watson, Gainesville, FL
- Romney Bathurst, Highlands, NC
- Justin Jones, Glendale, Arizona
- Aaron Bilyeu, Placerville, CA
- Chris Warren, Portland, OR
- Dean Nicholson, Cranbrook, B.C.
- Luke Seitz, Falmouth, ME
- Marcel Such, Lyons, CO
- Cole Wolf, Albuquerque, NM
- Jeff Birek, Channel Islands, CA
- Celestyn Brozek, Albuquerque, NM
- Xinyu Zhu, Vancouver, BC
- David Bell, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
- Karl Erich Mayer, Saint Clair Shores, Michigan
- Luke Downey, Friendswood, TX
- Alexander Godwin, Herndon, VA
- Glenn Werner, Beaufort, S.C.
- Anthony H. Bledsoe, Pittsburgh, PA
- Thomas Hall, Livermore, Colorado
- Josiah LaCelle, Camden, NY
- Alan Dupuis, Cambridge, NY
- Avery Bartels, Nelson, BC
- Stephen Joly, Kamloops, BC
- Ann McDonald, Calgary, Alberta
- Jerry Jourdan, Wyandotte, MI
- Max Wilson, Kensington, MD
- Thomas Hopkins, St. Petersburg, FL
- Matt Pike, Lacey, WA
- Ana Komro, West Bend, WI
- Larry Therrien, Belchertown, MA
- Andrew Fayer, Fort Washington, PA
- Jon Atwood, Keene, NH
- Steve Arlow, Rochford, Essex, England
- Jason Giovannone, West Columbia, SC
- Pete Fenner, East Peoria, IL
- Ben Kolstad, Boca Raton, FL
- David Perpinan, Omaha, Nebraska
- Jeremy Medina, Tucson, AZ
- Sam Burckhardt, Chicago, IL
- Matt Baumann, ABQ, NM
- Tamara Brenner, Elmhurst, IL
- Terri Everett, Big Rapids, MI
- Joshua Covill, Columbia Falls, MT
- Jim Peck, Wausau, WI
- tom graham, seabrook nh
- Wayne Meyer, Denison, TX
- Daroczi J. Szilard, Tg.-Mures, Romania
- Larry Kline, Fredericksburg, VA
- Marcelo Brongo, barcelona, Spain
- Philip Kline, Tucson, AZ
- Patty McKelvey, Sheffield Village, Ohio
- Greg Schrott, Sebring, FL
- Kevin Kerr, Guelph, ON
- Ryan Phillips, San Jose,CA
- Megan Rasmussen, Thunder Bay, Ontario
- Tom Benson, San Bernardino, CA
- Evan Houston, Seattle, WA
- Kevin Cassel, Libertyville, Illinois
- Urs Geiser, Woodridge, Illinois
- Ed Harper, Sacramento, CA
- Robin LaFortune, Delano, Mn
- Bret McCarty, Lakewood, OH
- Tim McFadden, Southampton, PA
- Rob lane, Chandler, AZ
- Gary W. Potter, Sanger, California
- Terry Anderson, Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
- Liis Veelma, Winnipeg MB
- Zach Miller, Roseville, CA
- Laura Coble, Cannnon Falls, MN
- Adam Nisbett, Saint James, MO
- Stephanie Smith, Redford, MI
- Javier de Leon, Edinburg, TX
- Pam Baum, Tucson, AZ
- Andrew Ross, London, Ontario
- Claude Auchu, La Pocatière, Québec
- Carolyn Broussard, Carencro, La
- Mark Nieters, Sartell, MN
- Wes Serafin, Orland Pk,Il
- George F. Cresswell, Colorado Springs, CO
- Brad Hammond, Brooksville, Florida
- Chad Heins, Mankato, MN
- Tyler Bell, California, Maryland
- Graham Etherington, Norwich, UK
- Brad Wilkinson, Tallmadge, OH
- Robert Packard, Riverside, CA
- mike wasilco, Scottsville, NY
- Kurt Pohlman, Kaneohe, Hi
- Tim Hochstetler, millersburg OH
- Mary Chambers, Petaluma, CA
- Jason McGuire, London, ON
- jennifer neff, Indianapolis, Indiana
- Lee Barnes, Seattle, WA
- Phoebe Mundall, Tai-Chung, Taiwan
- Gary Koehn, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Richard Stern, Port Williams, NS, Canada
- Jennie MacFarland, Tucson, AZ
- Barb Duncan, Jefferson City, MO
- Chris West, Richland Center, WI
- Lauren Thead, Macon, MS
- Hope Batcheller, Petersburgh, NY
- Zach Gent, Centreville, Maryland
- Michael Fialkovich, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Steve Hampton, Davis, CA
- Lori Fujimoto, Colorado Springs, CO
- Beau Schaefer, round lake beach, IL
- Franck Sirieix, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Geoffrey A. Williamson, Chicago, IL
- Malkolm Boothroyd, Whitehorse, Yukon
- Josh Taylor, Round Hill, VA
- Nathan Swick, Chapel Hill, NC
- David Yeany II, Cumberland, MD
- Mike Burrell, Heidelberg, Ontario
- Grant Gardner, Ottumwa, IA
- Alexandre Anctil, Québec, Québec
- Petro Pynnönen, Helsinki, Finland
- dave, Norfolk
- John Kuenzli, Columbus, OH
- Georgia Conti, Patzcuaro, Michocan, Mexico
- Lars Hemmendinger, Arlington, VA
- Benjamin Goloff, New York, New York
- Cinda Crosley, Pflugerville, TX
- Steve Steimel, Severna Park, Md
- Shaun Hicks, Morrisville, PA
- Kathy Brodhead, Vancouver, BC
- Richard Tiede, San Jose CA
- Matthew Kenne, Algona, Iowa
- Patricia DeMaria, Columbus, OH
- Su Snyder, Wooster, OH
- Gerrad Jones, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- James McKay, Mesa, AZ
- Myles Falconer, Lakefield, ONTARIO
- jeff Cole, Xalapa, Veracruz
- Tom Lally, Chicago, IL
- Marlene Jay Cashen, Veradale, Washington
- Linda Hoffman, Springville, NY
- Ben Loehnen, New York, NY
- Elaine MacPherson, Sierra Madre CA
- Jim Mountjoy, Galesburg, IL
- Jill Kaminski, Naples, FL
- Jason Estep, Newark, Ohio
- Blake Mathys, Milltown, NJ
- Harry Hooper, Tallahassee, Florida
- Phillip Casteel, Madison, TN
- Susan Kritzik, Portola Valley, CA
- Angie Hardesty, Bowling Green, KY
- Judy Jobin, Maidstone, On
- Henry Trombley, Bristol, Vermont
- Jonathan Cooley, Mooresville, NC
- Toby Ross, Davis, CA
- Shiloh, Tucson AZ
- David C. Smith, Owings Mills, MD
- Patrice Manning, Aurora, CO
- Hannah Perrin, Lexington Park, MD
- Richard Jeffers, Santa Clara, CA
- Robert Mottershead, Philadelphia, PA
- Robert Doster, Albuquerque, NM
- Eric Kent, East Windsor, New Jersey
- Olaf Soltau, New Preston, CT
- Kathleen MacAulay, Milford, Nova Scotia
- Elaine Long, E. Brunswick, NJ
- Dave Tietjen, Huntsville, AL
- Ian Davies, Medford, MA
- Matthew Schneider, Silverton, OR
- Andy Pedler, Newark, CA
- L. Long, Chandler, AZ
- Bobby Walsh, Davis, CA
- Kelly McKinne, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Kathryn Zimmerman, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Phil Kenny, Vienna, VA
- James P. Smith, Amherst, MA
- Zachary Loman, Arcata, CA
- Tim McCabe, KS
- Thomas Collins, Pittsfield, MA.
- Ted Stiritz, Russellville, AR
- Brendan Collins, New Haven, Vermont
- Greg Gillson, Hillsboro, Oregon
- Benoit Dorion, Saint-Laurent, Quebec, Canada
- J Scott Ryder, Houston, Texas
- Kasia Matyniak, Camp Hill, PA
- Conley Hausle, Moyock,NC
- Julie Hart, Hartland, VT
- Owen McMurtrey, Chicago, IL
- Randall Royal, Beaufort, S.C.
- Erica Wunder, Beaufort, S.C.
- Haynes Werner, Beaufort, S.C.
- Mary Walsh, Valencia, CA
- Lois Lindsay, Frankford WV
- Eddie Mundall, Yreka, CA
HOW DID YOU COMPARE?
As stated in the quiz rules, answers must consist simply of the Common or English name exactly as it appears in the ABA Checklist.
The following list shows the number of submissions for each species guessed.
| Northern Harrier |  | 194 |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | | 17 |
| Cooper's Hawk | | 11 |
| Swainson's Hawk | | 10 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | | 8 |
| Northern Goshawk | | 2 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | | 2 |
| American Kestrel | | 1 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | | 1 |
| Gyrfalcon | | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | | 1 |
| Roadside Hawk | | 1 |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | | 1 |
~~~~~~~~
The photo and answer for this quiz were supplied by Tony Leukering.
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