There are two levels of of identification one may engage in. For most, the simple identification to species is sufficient challenge. For those who would like to take such things further I offered the challenge of identifying each bird to age, sex, and race where that might be possible. If you're wondering about racial ID - remember the clue regarding where the photos were taken - in Ohio. A check of the appropriate literature would give the answer.
Solutions to these answers to follow.
I felt #11 to be the tricky species ID of the bunch nor was # 14 that obvious so for those of you going for species ID only, a score of 12 or better is excellent. I was a little surprised at the difficulty given by #14 which was reported as an Ovenbird, Lincoln's Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Baird's Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, and Vesper Sparrow.
For those who go to extremes in ID, I found my own initial assessment as to the number of points available pushed along by some earnest contestants. Subsequent research brings me to the above array of answers and a total possible point score of 46. In the extreme, one would be correct in offering "alternate" plumage for the adult sparrows but as I do not see how one can arrive at that from the images offered, I do not consider it a valid point in scoring. This level of ID is especially difficult. A score of 28 or better is more than respectable.
Here are some of the top scorers.
| 18 & over: Joe Hammond - 39 Kevin Kerr - 35 Mike Boyd - 34 Joe Bens - 31 David Brinkman - 30 Mike Busam - 29 |
Under 18's gave the older crowd a run for their money: Zac Baker - 39 Jenny Brumfield - 37 |
| #1.
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#2.
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| #3.
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#4.
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#6.
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#7.
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#8.
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#9.
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#10.
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#11.
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#12.
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#13.
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#14.
