Winner – ID Challenge! Oct, 2008

November 23rd, 2008 |

Author: Amber Coakley

The Birder’s Lounge ID Challenge! contest for October, 2008 has ended, and we have a winner!

First, I will reveal the correct answers and tell you a little bit about each of them.

Picture 1; Plano, TX

Picture 1 is better known as a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula). Where’s the “ruby crown?” Hidden, of course. The females have no ruby crown at all! About the only time you will actually see the ruby crown is when the male is showing off for the ladies, or when he defends his territory. ¹

This bird is constantly on the move. Constantly! As I watched a small flock of these little birds foraging for insects in the trees, I noticed that they have an impressive ability to hover like a hummingbird! Here is a picture showing a male’s ruby crown:

Range Map ²

Note: Range depicted for New World only. The scale of the maps may cause narrow coastal ranges or ranges on small islands not to appear. Not all vagrant or small disjunct occurrences are depicted. For migratory birds, some individuals occur outside of the passage migrant range depicted. A shapefile of this map is available for download at www.natureserve.org/getData/animalData.jsp.

Range Map Compilers: NatureServe, 2002; WILDSPACETM 2002 ³

Global Range Comments: BREEDING: Labrador east through Quebec, northern Manitoba, and northwestern Canada to Alaska, south to northern New England, northern Great Lakes region, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Mexico, Arizona, southern California. NON-BREEDING: Pacific states, British Columbia, and southern U.S. south through Mexico to Guatemala, also western Cuba and Bahamas.⁴

Picture 2; Plano, TX

Picture 2 is a Cricket Frog, probably a Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans). These are tiny little frogs, and come from even tinier tadpoles. It is almost impossible to catch these teensy frogs – you cannot see them until they jump, and they jump well out of reach. My niece and nephews are endlessly entertained by trying to spot and catch them. There is a ton of information about Northern Cricket Frogs at Amphibiaweb.org.

Picture 3; McKinney, TX

Picture 3 is an Osage Orange tree (Maclura pomifera). It is also known as Bois de’ arc, Bodark, Horse Apple, and Hedge Apple. This tree has really made a name for itself in Texas, because it is native to Central and East Texas, and has had many uses. Its wood was used by Indians for bows and by settlers for wagon wheel hubs. It has also been used to make dye, act as natural fencing, and repel bugs! My favorite tidbit is that squirrels can become intoxicated by eating the fermented fruit. Another tidbit – house loans were once refused in Central Texas if the (frame) house was not built on Osage Orange piers. ⁵ For even more information about this cool, native tree, I highly recommend a visit to a neat site dedicated to this tree – Hedgeapple.com.

And now, for the winner of any Birder’s Lounge Mug:

Jane Lovedahl wins! Congratulations – choose your mug!

Info about the October, 2008 Contest:

2 entries were submitted by 2 contestants
The winner correctly identified 2 out of 3 photos

The next monthly Birder’s Lounge ID Challenge! will be posted on or about November 30, 2008.

Birds of Texas, 2007, K. Arnold and G. Kennedy ↩
Ridgely, R.S., T.F. Allnutt, T. Brooks, D.K. McNicol, D.W. Mehlman, B.E. Young, and J.R. Zook. 2003. Digital Distribution Maps of the Birds of the Western Hemisphere, version 1.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia, USA. ↩
Data provided by NatureServe in collaboration with Robert Ridgely, James Zook, The Nature Conservancy – Migratory Bird Program, Conservation International – CABS, World Wildlife Fund – US, and Environment Canada – WILDSPACE. ↩
All species and ecological community data presented in NatureServe Explorer at http://www.natureserve.org/explorer were updated to be current with NatureServe’s central databases as of Feb 1, 2008. Ecological system data updated as of Jun 6, 2008. This report was printed on November 23, 2008 ↩
Texas Trees, A Friendly Guide, 1988, by P. Cox and P. Leslie ↩

Posted in ID Challenge |

Tags: bird, birder, Birding, bodark, contest, cricket frog, frog, hedgeapple, horse apple, ID Challenge, kinglet, mug, osage orange, prize, ruby-crowned kinglet, tree, winner

Vickie:

November 27, 2008 at 9:02 pm

I grew up with osage orange in my yard. We called them hedge apples.

Kinglets can look so different depending on the light. I discovered some in my yard just this week. TN is part of their wintering area.

http://vickiehenderson.blogspot.com/2008/11/ruby-crowned-kinglet.html

Jane Lovedahl:

November 29, 2008 at 9:32 pm

Thank you so much! I would like to choose the Northern Mockingbird mug- Product Number: 311329776 That picture of the Mockingbird is one of my very favorites that you have taken!

I am going to try to find some of those Kinglets around my area, too. For Christmas I am getting some brand new bird watching binoculars.