Sunday, February 24, 2008

So you think you know birds? (Quiz)

10,000 Birds and the Drinking Bird can't have all the fun. I decided to take my random assortment of pictures from Ornithology class and throw together one hell of a quiz. All specimens are either North American, or come from a family with North America representatives. Leave answers in the comments... I'll confirm them.

1) Identify the species that laid these eggs.

2) Who will I be when I grow up?

3) Whose feet am I (down to family)?

4) Species?

6) What awesome bird (down to genus) owns these ripping talons?

7) Who will I be when I grow up?

8) Species?

9) Genus?

10) Name a North American representative from the family of this beastly bird:

11) Whose foot am I?

12) Any guesses??
(Photo by Brad Walker)
Posted by slybird at 10:51 PM
Labels: ,

25 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2008 at 4:13 PM

    I'm way too intimidated to take a shot at this. Maybe I'll be back after a few shots of something else!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NateFebruary 26, 2008 at 10:04 AM

    I'll take a shot at some of them, tough quiz!

    1- Murres (Can't take it to species)
    2- An American Avocet
    3- A Jacana of some sort
    4- no idea...
    5- no 5?
    6- Stercorarius (A Skua) I've been looking at some of these myself lately...
    7- Gull (Herring maybe?)
    8- Calidris of some sort, short wings. Semipalm?
    9- Gallinago?
    10- Any of the woodpeckers. I'll say Downy. That's a hornbill right?
    11- Bald Eagle?
    12- Based on the tag, I'd say a republican ; )

    ReplyDelete
  3. Patrick B.February 26, 2008 at 10:14 AM

    You're disturbed. I'll take some wild guesses.

    1. Don't have an egg guide... been meaning to get one. I'll say they belong to some type of Alcid???

    2. Avocet?

    3. Jacana?

    4. Caspian Tern?

    6. No #5? Harpy Eagle?

    7. A gull or jaeger of some kind?

    8. Shorebird Sp.

    9. No Clue

    10. Roadrunner?

    11. Something I don't want near my arm

    12. Hahaha... no clue.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Patrick B.February 26, 2008 at 10:14 AM

    Looks like Nate and I crossed paths. I thought 10 was a Hornbill too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. noflicksterFebruary 26, 2008 at 3:17 PM

    Wow, is this what you're putting students through in lab practicals this semester?

    I hope to get back to these later, but I do agree with N8/Patrick on some (1- Murre, 2 - Avocet, need to look at others more closely).

    Let me throw out one:
    7 - Black Skimmer

    and hopefully back to some later . . .
    - Mike

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 26, 2008 at 4:09 PM

    #2 Western Sandpiper?
    #9 Numenius
    #12 Passenger Pigeon?
    No clue or already been said on the rest.

    ReplyDelete
  7. slybirdFebruary 26, 2008 at 7:25 PM

    Let's see...

    1 - Murre is correct. It is actually Common Murre. Although distinguishing between the two species' eggs may well be impossible, if you click on the picture to zoom in you can view the tag :)

    2 - American Avocet it is.

    3 - Jacana (Jacanidae) is correct

    4 - Nope, not Caspian Tern.

    5 - You are correct n8, it is missing

    6 - I knew you'd like this one n8. Skua it is.

    7 - You got it Mike. Black Skimmer chick.

    8 - Do better! This is a regularly occuring species in the East.

    9 - Jason gets this one - it's a Numenius. Long-billed Curlew.

    10 - One of you gave a correct answer, but for the wrong reason. Keep trying.

    11 - This one is probably too difficult. You're reasonably close but keep trying.

    12 - Ha! Good guesses. The specimen it is attached to is as bizarre as the tag.

    So, keep working on 4, 8, 10, and 11.

    Cheer,
    Nick

    ReplyDelete
  8. NateFebruary 26, 2008 at 7:56 PM

    8- Dunlin?
    11- Now that I think about it, methinks I see the zygodactyl toes of an Osprey there...

    That's a remarkably thin mandible for #4, is it North American?

    ReplyDelete
  9. NateFebruary 26, 2008 at 7:57 PM

    Meh, forget Dunlin for 8, I forgot that they look super long billed in skin form.

    ReplyDelete
  10. slybirdFebruary 26, 2008 at 8:06 PM

    8 - Yeah, forget Dunlin.
    11 - Methinks you are correct! Osprey it is.

    ReplyDelete
  11. slybirdFebruary 26, 2008 at 8:07 PM

    Yes, #4 is North American.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Patrick B.February 26, 2008 at 10:28 PM

    10. I'm not following you... It is an African Hornbill, no? Would a relative be a Belted Kingfisher?

    ReplyDelete
  13. slybirdFebruary 26, 2008 at 10:45 PM

    Thats just the thing... #10 isn't even in the same order as Hornbills (Bucerotidae, order Coraciiformes). So what family is it? :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. NateFebruary 27, 2008 at 7:10 AM

    10- Is it one of the Mountain Toucans? Order Piciformes?

    ReplyDelete
  15. slybirdFebruary 27, 2008 at 7:15 AM

    Nope, not in Piciformes. This is fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. NateFebruary 27, 2008 at 8:14 AM

    4- Another Black Skimmer

    ReplyDelete
  17. slybirdFebruary 27, 2008 at 8:24 AM

    #4 Skimmer is correct!

    #8 is still out there. It's a North American breeder that regularly occurs in the East.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Patrick B.February 27, 2008 at 2:18 PM

    It is clear that I have no clue about #10.

    ReplyDelete
  19. slybirdFebruary 27, 2008 at 3:08 PM

    #10 - Alright, alright. #10 is... (look away if you are still guessing!) ... Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops). It is by far the most beastly Cuckoo I know of and is from Australia. Given that its a Cuckoo (Cuculidae) then the correct answer given was Roadrunner by Patrick.

    http://www.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/idc/groups/public/documents/presentation/jcudev_005063~2.3.jpg

    Still waiting on that peep ID... ;)

    And no Mike, we go a little easier on the students when it comes to lab practicals. This is just an insane quiz and yes, Patrick, I am disturbed.

    Cheers,
    Nick

    ReplyDelete
  20. NateFebruary 27, 2008 at 3:45 PM

    AH! I was suspecting cuckoos because it's such a big family beyond our borders with such weird members. But I couldn't find a picture of your bird so I was stumped. We have malkohas and couas and stuff in my museum too, strange birds.

    As for the peep, I can't see the legs but is it a Least? I noticed you blurred out the tag on the first pic. Tricksy...

    ReplyDelete
  21. slybirdFebruary 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM

    I love Malkohas (and all cuckoos in general). I have some pictures of our specimens of Scale-crested and others.

    For the peep... look at how far the wingtips project beyond the tail.

    ReplyDelete
  22. NateFebruary 27, 2008 at 9:22 PM

    Baird's is it then?

    Not only did I mistake the wingtips for the tail, but mistook your "regularly occurring" clue for "commonly occurring". A mess all around really.

    ReplyDelete
  23. slybirdFebruary 27, 2008 at 11:41 PM

    Baird's it is! I'll post full answers soon.

    ~ Nick

    ReplyDelete
  24. Patrick B.February 28, 2008 at 8:35 AM

    Damn, I almost said Baird's too.

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    I uppose that I come very late and all is identified already in the comments... but let me a try!

    1. Guillemot, Uria aalge
    2. Really not sure... American avocet, Recurvirostra americana (guessing). Recurvirostridae almost sure.
    3. Obviously Jacanidae.... but no idea of species. If it must be in North America, then it only can be Jacana spinosa (not nearctic but...)
    4. This bill looks distinctive but I'm unable of recognize it. A Rynchops nigra maybe... but the lower mandible looks too short, but as is only bone maybe this is the real lenght.
    5. I would vote for Catharacta skua.
    7. A complete guess and probably a stupid one, but I will say a chick of puffin, Fratercula corniculata.
    8. Pass. Waders are my worst nightmare in bird ID.
    9. Scolopax I suppose... and S. minor if north american
    10. The reply, Coccyzus americanus or C. erythrophthalmus or Geococcyx californianus or G. velox. (These are the only N American species that I know). The species of the photo is the easiest to recognize of all the quiz: the magnific and dreamed Scythrops novaehollandiae, channel-billed cuckoo. I just planned to go to Berlin this summer for see it (between other birds, my most wished is Trumpet manucode!)
    11. I would say Tyto alba.

    I hope that maybe some are correct! Go now to read the comments for comprobate it! I never arrive at time to these kind of quizz that I love :-(

    ReplyDelete

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