Here is a photo of a white heron, taken by Constance Mier on the main shoreline of Biscayne Bay National Park, near Miami, Florida, on May 25, 2012. You can see more of Constance’s photos at her webpage: http://cmierphotoandfitness.net/myphotos.html
The structure and color of birds’ legs is extremely variable. Everyone knows the difference between the webbed foot of a duck and the unwebbed toes of a chicken, and we can tell the thick, yellow toes of a chicken from the delicate black toes of a flycatcher. Often overlooked, however, is the fact that we …
Today’s quiz features a bonus And we have a winner – Congratulations to Nicholas! Thanks to all who entered. Watch for another quiz giveaway in the near future. Everyone who submits a perfect score by 9 PM Eastern Time on Thursday May 24th, will be entered in a drawing to win a prize. The prize …
Today’s quiz features a bonus And we have a winner! Congratulations to Laramie, and thanks to everyone who entered! There will be another quiz giveaway next week – stay tuned. Everyone who submits a perfect score by 9 PM Eastern Time on Thursday May 10th, will be entered in a drawing to win a prize. …
Like a previous quiz this one shows warblers as they are so often seen in the field – with just the underside of the body visible. Clues such as tail shape, overall size, behavior and other subtleties can be very helpful with experience. In this quiz I focus on the more objective features of plumage. …
Here are five species of intensely colorful spring birds. Can you identify them from just the small parts that are visible? Today’s quiz features a bonus We have a winner! Congratulations to Chuck, who will get the signed copy of Bright Wings. Thanks to everyone who played, there will be another chance next week. Everyone …
This quiz shows just the bodies of five species of small drab songbirds with wingbars. In other quizzes I’ve given a big clue in the form of telling you the family of the birds in the quiz (e.g. “More Warblers”), but in this quiz your challenge is to identify the family. This level of identification …
This quiz shows warblers as they are so often seen in the field – with just the underside of the body visible. Clues such as tail shape, overall size, behavior and other subtleties can be very helpful with experience. In this quiz I focus on the more objective features of plumage. When all you can …
I recorded this sound (with my iPhone, please excuse the poor quality) on 29 April 2012 near my house in Concord, MA. Have a listen and see what you think. For a little additional background information, which will also give you a hint, read the footnote below. ((This is a fairly common variant of the song …
Here are some partially obscured warblers to test your knowledge. Look especially at the pattern of wingbars to distinguish these three. With thanks, again, to Brian E. Small for providing the beautiful photos. You can see lots more at his website.