ID Challenge #1 - closes 15 July 2010

[Neil Fitzgerald]

(69.96 KiB) Viewed 11054 times

This is the first challenge for a new round. All scores are even, so make sure you have a go.
Answers for this challenge are due by replying to this topic by midnight (NZST) on Thursday 15 July 2010.

Click here for the rules.

The winner of the 2010-2011 ID Quiz will get one free place on a scheduled Wrybill Birding Tours, NZ pelagic trip!

Answers will not be visible to anyone else until after the closing date.

[tim]

sharp tailed sandpiper

[michaelgreeny]

I must say firstly, whenever I open a new ID Quiz and see a wader, my heart sinks a little lower!

But on a brighter note, after having a browse through a field guide or two, I am going to go with Sharp Tailed Sandpiper, I reckon the combination of the colour of the legs, the edging of the prominent feathers, the crown of the head being a different colour and the slight streaking underneath make it a Sharpy.

Although I am ready to be shown otherwise.

[GarySetterfield]

sharp-tailed sand

[ian smith]

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper? (pronounced feather edging, speckling on underparts, yellow-green legs)

Ian Smith

[craigsteed]

I'm going with a sharp-tailed sandpiper
Craig.

[quattrocchi]

Pectoral Sandpiper, Calidris melanotos the yellow legs being the clincher.

[ledzep]

I'll go for Sharp Tailed Sandpiper. Hard to tell from this angle, but I'm not expecting to see flecks on the underside of a Pectoral. The legs would perhaps be yellower on Pectoral. So I'll stick with Sharp Tailed Sandpiper.

[bruce.shanks]

Sharp tailed sandpiper

[Byrd]

ah, sandpipers....great. Well here goes. As I have no idea what on Earth I'm doing when it comes to waders I will take a stab and hope for the best. It would appear to be a Calidris, and it has yellowy legs which narrows things down. Nice bright feathers on the upperparts with black centres and rufous and white edges. I think I see the chestnut crown colour. Sharp-tailed sandpiper and pectoral sandpiper look most likely to me (he says hopefully). The underparts are white but have those sort of arrow markings on them which I guess makes it a sharp-tailed sandpiper in or coming into breeding plumage, although the legs look very yellow.

Answer: sharp-tailed sandpiper Calidris acuminata