Liam's Weekly Quiz!

[PalmWarbler]

Just now, Kerri said:

We are direct messaging Liam with our guess this week.

yes I forgot ? see my edited post

[floraphile]

On 9/12/2021 at 5:42 AM, Clip said:

Okay my life list is over million then too. Add in 10s of thousands of Cackling Geese in the winter in Colorado and probably as many Ring-billed Gulls...One trip to Quivira NWR in Kansas boom another few thousand birds. Over a thousand Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds....

1 BILLION Laughing Gulls!

[Quiscalus quiscula]

1 hour ago, Kevin said:

One person got the correct id, you could be that person! 

I doubt it.

[Liam]

Just a heads up - I will be posting the answer and putting up next week's quiz bird on Thursday instead of Friday, since I'll be out doing field work in Camp County on Friday and Saturday.

[Clip]

8 hours ago, floraphile said:

1 BILLION Laughing Gulls!

Indeed! here in Florida Laughing gulls rule. When I lived in Colorado it was Ring-billed Gulls.

[Kevin]

7 hours ago, Clip said:

Indeed! here in Florida Laughing gulls rule. 

Same on the Texas coast! 

[Quiscalus quiscula]

I think it more southern regions like Florida and Texas, there are more Laughing Gulls simply because they are one of the only gulls there that will stay year round. Here it's definitely ringers when you go down to the river. I once spent like five minutes counting all the ring-billed gulls on the buoys, and I got up to 143!

[lonestranger]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:18 PM, Liam said:

Here's the next quiz bird!!

Bringing the bird of discussion back into view.

I'm speculating that this has to be a fairly short tailed bird since we can't see the tail protruding beyond the branches. For that reason alone I have taken mockingbird off my list of possibilities. I still don't know what my final GUESS will be tomorrow but I have one less option on my list.

 

[Quiscalus quiscula]

1 minute ago, lonestranger said:

Bringing the bird of discussion back into view.

I'm speculating that this has to be a fairly short tailed bird since we can't see the tail protruding beyond the branches. For that reason alone I have taken mockingbird off my list of possibilities. I still don't know what my final GUESS will be tomorrow but I have one less option on my list.

 

Yes, I was also thinking about the tail length, good point. However, if it's a very young bird it may not have grown in tail feathers yet, just another point.

[Clip]

37 minutes ago, Quiscalus quiscula said:

I think it more southern regions like Florida and Texas, there are more Laughing Gulls simply because they are one of the only gulls there that will stay year round. Here it's definitely ringers when you go down to the river. I once spent like five minutes counting all the ring-billed gulls on the buoys, and I got up to 143!

There are places in Colorado like Aurora Reservoir where in the winter there are 1000s of Ring-billed Gulls. Nearby Cherry Creek State Park has them by the 100s. Aurora is the bigger draw because it is deeper and doesn't freeze over as much. Both are located not far from a Dump where the gulls go to feed every morning in waves and return to the reservoir when they are full or evening comes.

 

[Quiscalus quiscula]

53 minutes ago, Clip said:

There are places in Colorado like Aurora Reservoir where in the winter there are 1000s of Ring-billed Gulls. Nearby Cherry Creek State Park has them by the 100s. Aurora is the bigger draw because it is deeper and doesn't freeze over as much. Both are located not far from a Dump where the gulls go to feed every morning in waves and return to the reservoir when they are full or evening comes.

 

I've often seen them flying high over the river, or at their favorite 'roosting place' at Lock 7. I once had them as a flyover over my yard as well, and occasionally at parking lots. I haven't really seen them at the dump, though, but I'm sure they're hiding there somewhere.

[lonestranger]

Okay, I made up my mind and I'm ready to direct message @Liam with my guess. I won't reveal my choice but I will say that my decision was based on my original feeling of being familiar with this species, and the hints dropped by Liam, and the discussion of others. If I was to offer a hint without revealing my guess, I would suggest looking at the bill and not the gape. 

Don't forget that the deadline has been pushed forward to today, so get your guesses, or revised guesses DM'd to @Liam before time runs out.

[The Bird Nuts]

1 minute ago, lonestranger said:

I won't reveal my choice but I will say that my decision was based on my original feeling of being familiar with this species, and the hints dropped by Liam

Same!

[Liam]

Thank you for your submissions!!

The correct answer for this week's quiz is juvenile Golden-cheeked Warbler!!

This photo was taken at Fort Hood, Texas on May 7th.

This week's quiz was particularly challenging because the age of the bird lends no hint to the species due to the dissimilarity in plumage! Plus, the bill is disproportionally large due to the young age of the bird. The long insectivorous bill, body shape, and wingbars suggest warbler. Looking at the habitat, the bird is perched in an juniper, which is a huge clue. The Golden-cheeked Warbler is very closely dependent on old-growth Ashe Juniper, requiring stands aged 30+ years. When ashe juniper reaches this age, the bark on the trunk begins to peel and the peeling bark is the main constituent of the nest. This species feeds on arthropods in the Ashe Juniper, but prefers to forage on Spanish, Live, and Post Oak, or Texas Ash. Thus, a mix of juniper and deciduous trees is ideal.

Here's daddy feeding the whipper-snapper!

Those who guessed Golden-cheeked Warbler get 3 points, those who guessed any species in the genus Setophaga get 2 points, and anyone who guessed any species in the family Parulidae gets 1 point. Anyone who guessed juvenile Golden-cheeked Warbler gets an additional point. Sex cannot be determined.

Here's the 9/16/21 scoreboard.

_________________________________

1. AidanB, BirdingBoy, ConnorCochorane, IKLland, TheBirdNuts - 6 points

2. Kevin, Lonestranger, Quiscalusquiscula - 5 points

3. BirdNrd - 4 points

4. Kerri - 3 points

5. Avery, meghann - 2 points

6. BlueJay, Clip, Kansasbirdguy - 0 points

_________________________________

 

Thanks again for your submissions! This week's quiz will be posted shortly.

[Liam]

Here's this week's quiz bird! Please DM me using the same message thread as the last quiz bird.

[meghann]

Can I get 1/4 of a point for at least guessing a yellow, black, and white bird? ?

[Seanbirds]

@Liam do you give an extra point for subspecies if applicable?

[Liam]

3 minutes ago, Seanbirds said:

@Liam do you give an extra point for subspecies if applicable?

Yes! Like age and sex, it can be an important factor to consider when identifying certain birds.

[Liam]

7 minutes ago, meghann said:

Can I get 1/4 of a point for at least guessing a yellow, black, and white bird? ?

Yes, but when I calculate the score, the 0.25 of a point automatically rounds down. ?

[meghann]

4 minutes ago, Liam said:

Yes, but when I calculate the score, the 0.25 of a point automatically rounds down. ?

But I'LL know it's there. And so will everyone else that reads this!

[Seanbirds]

17 minutes ago, meghann said:

Can I get 1/4 of a point for at least guessing a yellow, black, and white bird? ?

It's got pink and brown too. ?

[Quiscalus quiscula]

I didn't know Golden-cheeked Warblers were so dependent on Juniper! Oh well, you learn something new every day. 

[Kevin]

2 hours ago, Liam said:

Thank you for your submissions!!

The correct answer for this week's quiz is juvenile Golden-cheeked Warbler!!

This photo was taken at Fort Hood, Texas on May 7th.

This week's quiz was particularly challenging because the age of the bird lends no hint to the species due to the dissimilarity in plumage! Plus, the bill is disproportionally large due to the young age of the bird. The long insectivorous bill, body shape, and wingbars suggest warbler. Looking at the habitat, the bird is perched in an juniper, which is a huge clue. The Golden-cheeked Warbler is very closely dependent on old-growth Ashe Juniper, requiring stands aged 30+ years. When ashe juniper reaches this age, the bark on the trunk begins to peel and the peeling bark is the main constituent of the nest. This species feeds on arthropods in the Ashe Juniper, but prefers to forage on Spanish, Live, and Post Oak, or Texas Ash. Thus, a mix of juniper and deciduous trees is ideal.

Here's daddy feeding the whipper-snapper!

Those who guessed Golden-cheeked Warbler get 3 points, those who guessed any species in the genus Setophaga get 2 points, and anyone who guessed any species in the family Parulidae gets 1 point. Anyone who guessed juvenile Golden-cheeked Warbler gets an additional point. Sex cannot be determined.

Here's the 9/16/21 scoreboard.

_________________________________

1. AidanB, BirdingBoy, ConnorCochorane, IKLland, TheBirdNuts - 6 points

2. Kevin, Lonestranger, Quiscalusquiscula - 5 points

3. BirdNrd - 4 points

4. Kerri - 3 points

5. Avery, meghann - 2 points

6. BlueJay, Clip, Kansasbirdguy - 0 points

_________________________________

 

Thanks again for your submissions! This week's quiz will be posted shortly.

I think I had a large advantage over everyone else, because I knew what the tree was! 

[lonestranger]

Well I was wrong about being familiar with the bird in quiz #2, and I know nothing about which birds eat which bugs, or which trees support which bugs, so I couldn't take advantage of the specific diet hint. I ended up guessing Yellow-rumped Warbler which seemed to match up when I looked at photos of fledglings, and they can be quite colourful too which seemed to match the part of Liam's of hint that I focused on.

Good challenging photo @Liam ?

Edited September 16, 2021 by lonestranger

[The Bird Nuts]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

I think I had a large advantage over everyone else, because I knew what the tree was! 

I knew what the tree was, too, but I didn't know of any birds that relied on them for food! ?

I went with Pine Warbler. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯