MAY 2009'S MYSTERY BIRD ANSWERS

Okay, so May's mystery pairing were difficult, well number 10 was anyway and that was reflected in the entrants this month. There were only 18 hardy souls in this month's round, nearly half of the preceding months entries. Clearly we don't like them too difficult but hey, you've really gotta test yourself every so often. So how did our hardy 18 do?

Mystery bird 9

An overwhelming 17 entrants got this one right with the only wrong answer being Little Tern. There wasn't much in it really but the all white plumage with solid black 'stripes' on the wing and back steered the majority towards it Avocet and you know what? They weren't wrong!

Avocet, Marshside 2007 (Ian McKerchar)

Mystery Bird 10

So here it is. Clearly everyone was completely flummoxed by this one, well nearly everyone. How could I be so cruel, there's completely nothing to go, nothing that fits, is there?  The eleven species offered emphasised the difficulty with this bird but there was a Wheatear theme running through the majority so lets look at the choices. Pied Wheatear (2 votes), Black-eared Wheatear (2 votes), Isabelline Wheatear (1 vote),  Northern Wheatear (2 votes), Desert Wheatear (2 votes), Red-backed Shrike (1 vote), Woodchat Shrike (1 vote), Shoveler (1 vote), Mallard (1 vote), Stonechat (2 votes) and Lapwing (3 votes). There were many very detailed and convincing arguments put forward for the various species and all the incorrect answers can be forgiven for they all harbour one or two features of the mystery bird but only one of the above species is right so lets get down to which one it is. Take a look at the photo above again, with a clear and open mind, ignoring what ever you original answer was. Firstly the wings. Well, black and what seems to be some paler, around the base of the primaries. Back, blackish from what we can see. Uppertail coverts white, right. The flanks certainly look rather buffish agreed and the rest of the underparts white. The tail is obviously black and white and it's clear where the Wheatear entries came from, they've just gotta be right, right? Lets take a closer look at it. The central tail feathers are clearly more extensively black than the others but it is plainly more than just the central pair of feathers. Look at the terminal edge of the tail and you can see that there are more than just two feathers showing such extensive black and that is contrary to all the Wheatears which show black completely along the two central feathers and then varying degrees along the others, none of which even approaches our mystery bird. The plot thickens. Perhaps one or two of who are now having that 'penny dropping' moment? The Wheatears are close but no cigar. What bird shows such a black and white tail pattern, white uppertail coverts, buffish flanks and black wings with white at the base of the primaries? More pennies dropping? I admit it was swine of a mystery bird but those features are there and take a look at the exact pattern of that black on the tail and you'll see, the only bird that actually fits is of course the correct one and that is Woodchat Shrike. The usual large white scapular patch of this shrike is hidden by the open wings but the apparent bright reddish areas around the legs I can't explain but they don't help either way anyway! Mystery birds like this are clearly the edge of our current envelope but look how far we've come. Look how much effort and thought you put into your entries. Hopefully, look what you've learned in the process! There was only a single correct answer and his entry outlined most of the features above but was clinched by the buffish flanks, sometimes there's just something that strikes a chord and that's all it takes. A huge congratulations to our mystery bird 10 hero, Mike Chorley, well done Sir.

Woodchat Shrike, Bahrain (Adrian Drummond-Hill)

Obviously there was only the one complete set of correct answers this month and it was that man Mike Chorley!

With all the current front runners getting atleast one wrong there was no change in the leader board, not that anyone cares right? It's just for fun ☺