April in Texas
Can you identify the birds in this picture? Fill out the form below and submit it to compete in this month's photo quiz. The first correct entry will receive a CMBO LensPen- "The superior lens cleaning system for fine optics". We will post the names of the winning entry along with all honorable mentions next month.
Please note: All quiz birds are species that occur in New Jersey. All fields are required for entry.
March 2009 Photo Quiz Answer
This month, our quiz involves another waterbird. This one is dark with big white wing patches. Since we can’t judge size very well, let’s start by figuring out exactly what part of the wing those white patches are on. First of all, the bird seems to be facing away and we are seeing the top side of the wings. With that in mind, the white patches are clearly on the trailing edge of the inner wing, encompassing just about the whole of the secondaries (the innermost secondaries seem to be smudged with a little dark). There appear to be tiny tips of white on the inner several primaries, but otherwise, the rest of the wing, including the primaries and all of the wing coverts, appears to be dark. The rest of the bird also appears to be dark, except for small but distinct white patches on the back of the head. OK, we’re off to a pretty good start.
Next step, make a list of all the darkish waterbirds that have white secondary patches. The only candidates are three species of grebes and several species of waterfowl. Let’s start with the waterfowl. White secondary patches are found on Gadwall, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Tufted Duck, White-winged Scoter, Common and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, and Hooded, Red-breasted, and Common Mergansers. Several of these are quick to eliminate. Because the wing coverts are entirely dark on this bird, we can eliminate mergansers and goldeneyes. And there are no dark tips to the secondaries, so that rules out the two scaup and Tufted Duck. The white patch on our bird is large, encompassing all of the secondaries, so it can’t be a Gadwall or Bufflehead, both of which show white on only a portion of their secondaries. That leaves only White-winged Scoter, which has a wing pattern very much like this bird’s. The only problem is that the head is wrong. Not only should White-winged Scoter not show white patches on the back of the head, but it also has a much larger head. In fact, all ducks have much larger heads than that of our quiz bird. It must not be a duck.
That leaves us with Horned, Eared, and Red-necked Grebes. In addition to a white secondary patch, Red-necked shows a white patch on the leading edge of the inner wing which should be visible from this angle. However, some immatures lack that forewing patch. One problem with Red-necked is the shape of the white secondary patch. The bases of the outer secondaries should be dark on a Red-necked, not fully white. Also, Red-necked would have a larger head without such strongly contrasting white patches. So it’s down to Horned and Eared Grebes. The wing pattern is fine for either one, so we can go only on head pattern. Although these species are notoriously difficult to distinguish, one useful feature that is obvious from this angle is head/neck proportions. This bird has a very small head and skinny neck, both pointing toward Eared Grebe. The dark cheeks contrasting with white nape patches also indicate Eared. Horned Grebe would show white cheeks and a neat dark cap, so the white patches would not be so restricted.
Monthly Prize Winner
James Duffy of Washington, NJ