Weekly Bird Identification Quiz
March 30- April 5, 2009
How to Identify:
Let’s start out by listing the key features that we can see on the bird. This includes a white wing patch, thick bill, eye-ring, pale malar, streaked sides, and streaked back. From these field marks we are limited to Grosbeaks and Sparrows. The only Grosbeak with a similar shape as this bird is a Blue Grosbeak. The white wing patch, eye ring, and streaking on the sides rules out the Blue Grosbeak. The large bill and white wing patch rule out all sparrows type birds except Lark Bunting. If this were a picture of a male it wouldn’t be an ID challenge at all but learning how to identify female birds is very important.
Answer: Lark Bunting (Female)
Photo Location: Black Hills, South Dakota
Photo Date: June 2008