Photo Quiz 6: Where Am I? Edition

In our last photo quiz just before the holidays, you all pretty seamlessly picked out both kinds of wigeons in the picture—nice work and a good example of the value of a long clear look at a bird. If only all sightings were the equivalent of a full-frame shot of birds frozen in motion!

This first quiz of the new year is a little grainy but it still shows you everything you need to make a fairly quick and confident identification. That’s why I’m going one step further and asking you to do a bit more detective work.

I took this photo on day two of my blissful holiday vacation. By knowing the names of the two organisms in the frame, you should be able to deduce where I spent my December vacation. Maybe not with GPS accuracy, but you can come up with a reasonably specific placename. I just love that about birding.

And for beginning birders, this is still a pretty good exercise for your field guide. This is another one of those odd-shaped birds that doesn’t look quite like its more widespread relatives. And it’s a great way to practice using the first two keys to identification, Size & Shape and Color Pattern. (Our free Inside Birding video series helps you practice this, too.)

So drop us a comment and let us know: What bird is this? What about it makes you say that? And where did I go over the holidays? Thanks for playing!

Like these photo quizzes? Check out Quiz 1, Quiz 2, Quiz 3, Quiz 4, and Quiz 5.