Liam

Nope. I found them on google, but you can click on them to take you to the original jpg on the site they were hosted at.

Great find! Do y'all pronounce is "Gosh-auk," "Gos-Hawk," or "Gosh-Hawk"?

One easy way to tell woodpeckers from other birds is the tail - they have two long and firm tail feathers that assist in balance. When they are perched, the tail feathers are very apparent:

I agree; No real way to assess bill length either. There's nothing wrong with accepting "peep sp." for some shorebirds. I've been seeing lots of Western Sandpipers and a butt load of Least on the Texas coast lately - haven't seen any Dunlin yet.

I'd like to see another photo of this bird, if possible. I think there's something going on with the bill blending in with the background and making the bill look larger than it actually is. I believe this to be a Lincoln's. The buffy coloration on the flanks is very extensive and the supercilium coloration is uniform. I won't take a gander at color, assuming the light is altering the overall temperature of the photo. Also, Henslow's is extremely unlikely in October, with only 3 records in Texas in October in recorded History, and most of those very late in the month.

RIP This thread ? Sorry y'all. I moved to Corpus Christi to start a new job and haven't had much free time to post! Not sure if that will change, but I'm kinda thinking of bringing back this thread. Starting with dowitchers...

The more upright one is an adult female Mountain Bluebird. The other one (alone in the second picture) is a juvenile. Note the darker coloration, especially on the flanks, and the shorter bill with a yellow gape flange.

I agree. Very distinct with that harlequin pattern on the face, though it is rather obscured from this angle.

The fish is a rainbow trout

Note the long bill and dense streaking on the chest and flanks - this is a female Red-winged Blackbird. Song Sparrow have shorter, more conical bills and much sparser streaking on the chest and flanks (at least in the east).

Hey, sorry for the late response, I have been busy with life. I did my master's on habitat preferences of Bachman's Sparrow at the western extent of its range (which theoretically includes Arkansas!). Where you'll find them will be in shortleaf pine stands with mature trees that are spread apart, enabling sunlight to reach the forest floor. This promotes the growth of herbaceous plants like grasses and forbs. Bachman's Sparrow builds its nest entirely out of grass, so a prominent ground layer of grass is necessary for their occupancy. If you're searching for BACS habitat, look for relatively open mature pine stands with lots of grass in the understory. Too much woody vegetation will shade out the grass, so you don't want to look in stands that have a lot of early succession (e.g., sweetgum, yaupon saplings). They are very responsive to playback (but obviously don't overdo it) and will sing from January to September. Peak singing season is March-July. They'll sing any time of day, but are most active during the early and mid-morning hours.

Sorry y'all! The quiz with non-birds was a joke FYI! I've been super busy moving (not done yet!). And now I'm back in Georgia to see my grandfather, who is really sick.

You'd get zero points for all of these!!

This next quiz will include fish, snakes, and skippers! Oh and damselflies!