Answers & solutions

Check your answers against these explanations. Did you notice that some of the puzzles feature more than one species?

BIRD 2

Once more we have played a little trick on you, as there are two species of wader in this photograph, though this may not be obvious. The two birds at the back are both awake and showing their short, plover-like bills and big dark eye. The spangled grey-brown plumage and chunky structure point to these being Grey Plovers in winter plumage. The closer, central, ‘sleeping’ bird has similar plumage to the others, but the eye is strikingly much smaller, and the legs are slimmer. The size, shape, pattern and that little bit of barred tail all point to this being a Bar-tailed Godwit. Many of our wintering waders share similar plumage patterns, so you have to take any clues you can, including structural ones.

Key features

n More distant birds are similar, with short bills and large eyes n Pattern is essentially similar to other bird, but legs thicker n Central, sleepy bird has a much smaller eye and thinner legs n Barred tail just showing

BIRD 1

Here we have a bunch of dark wading birds standing on dark rock. The first thing to note is that not all of these birds are the same. That one on the left, closest to the photographer, looks to be different. Let’s start with that one: it is dumpy, with a long, slightly down-curved bill, like a Dunlin’s. But the overall colour is darker than a Dunlin, and grey-brown. And the legs are yellow ochre, as is the base of the bill. This dumpy calidrid is a Purple Sandpiper. The rest of the birds are the same as each other; similar in size to the Purple Sandpiper, but more attenuated at the rear end, with a short, ‘chisel-shaped’ bill. The black bib and odd face pattern, white belly and orange legs all show that these are Turnstones, often associated with Purple Sandpipers.

Key features

n One bird is dumpy, with a down-curved bill n Dark plumage, yellow-orange legs and bill n Rest are brown, black and white, with ‘complex’ face n Chisel-shaped bill and orange legs

BIRD 3

Out of the frying pan into the fire, you may be thinking, after seeing this collective mass of tiny bird images... However, this is not as mean as it may first appear. The photograph shows a flock of dark, almost black, birds, flying low over the breakers. A second look and you will see that they have long necks and relatively small heads and long, pointed wings, plus ‘short rear ends’, suggesting they are geese. Next, note that the rear ends look white, and the bellies dark grey (contrasting slightly with the black head, neck and breast). All these factors should lead you to conclude that these are what could be termed ‘black geese’ of the genus Branta (as opposed to ‘grey geese’ of the genus Anser).the wholly black head and black breast should confirm these are dark-bellied Brent Geese.

Key features

n Dark geese n Black head neck and breast n Dark grey belly n White rear end

BIRD 4

OK, a bit of light relief for you here. Or, perhaps, it is a case of you either know it or you don’t. At least it is a single bird in full view, standing on shingle. It looks like a perching bird. Furthermore, it has a ‘sparrow-like’ or ‘finchy’ look, with those rounded features and that short, conical, seedeater’s bill; which is notable in being yellow. The other most striking feature of this finch-like bird is the length of the wings. For a small, dumpy seed-eating bird, those are super-long primaries, almost reaching the end of the short, forked tail. Plumage-wise, this is pale bird, with a whitish throat and underparts and a broad, whitish supercilium, and white in the wing. The cheeks are buffy-brown and the face lacks black markings. The back is grey-brown with black streaks. This is a Snow Bunting.

Key features

n Yellow bill; finch-like shape n Very long primaries (longer flight feathers) n Overall pale plumage n No black feathering in the face

BIRD 5

Yes, folks, there are, once again, more than one species in this photograph: two in fact, and if you want to get full marks, you need to identify both. There are two sizes of bird here, let’s call them big and small, and you should also be able to see that they are both types of duck. The big ones are characterised by reddish brown tones in the body and on the head, and what looks like a white belly. Most notable are the extensive white areas in the wing (particularly in the upper bird), which combined with the body colour should have led you to Wigeon. The smaller ducks have grey-brown overall plumage and distinctive dark panels in the inner rear edge of the wing, lined with cream. These are Teal.

Key features

n Larger ducks have red-brown bodies and heads n Extensive white in wing diagnostic of drake n Smaller ducks are tiny n Wing pattern distinctive for Teal BIRD 6 You’ve done the hard work, so now you get a little treat, a small Christmas present to help you feel good about yourself and encourage you to embrace the New Year with optimism. It is of course a wader (or shorebird, if you prefer). It looks (judging by its relatively large head) to be quite a small and dumpy one, with a medium-length, straight, black bill. The overall structure cries out the genus Calidris, the small dumpy waders, like Dunlin or Knot. Even for a winter calidrid this bird is very pale, with striking white underparts and very pale grey upperparts. The most obvious contrast is in that stretched wing, which is blackish, with a bold white wing-bar. If all this wasn’t enough, the lack of hind toe confirms this is a Sanderling. Key features n Very pale, dumpy wader n Mid-length, straight, black bill n Distinctive contrasting wing pattern n Sanderlings have only three toes (lacking the hind toe)!

MY FAVOURITE SITE “LIKE LAST MONTH, TITCHWELL RSPB, IN NORTH NORFOLK IS MY GO-TO COASTAL BIRDWATCHING SITE” MIKE WEEDON, ASSISTANT EDITOR