I thought that this quiz might be a bit easier than previous diabolical identification quizzes and I think I was right.  Not that I am trying to downplay the sheer brilliance of Jason, who managed to build off of Jochen‘s two-and-a-half correct answers and get all four right (amazing, simply amazing)!  Maybe my diabolicity is to well-known now: even including a picture with no bird to identify didn’t phase any of you!  Anyway, below are the original pictures with my clumsy attempts at drawing attention to where the birds actually are (photoshop is not my forte) and also cropped shots of the birds to show that they are what I (and Jason) say they are.

The first picture, however, has another shot in the sequence cropped, which shows a bit more of a bird than the original. The last picture in the quiz, which included no birds, just leaves, is not included here at all because, well, no one wants to see that picture again.  Did those of you who guessed that there was no bird in that picture spend a really long time examining it in minute detail trying to find a bird?  Congrats to Jason for recognizing that!

Bird number two, once it was found, was rather readily identifiable as a bland, fall-plumaged, Chestnut-sided Warbler, well, it was if you put your eye up next to your computer screen.  John had too much dignity to place his eyeball next to the screen, which is why he missed this one while Jochen and Jason nailed it.

Bird number three, hidden way back in some brush and completely out of focus was Common Yellowthroat.  Considering the habitat and the out-of-focusness of the shot Jochen can’t be blamed for thinking it is a Yellow-breasted Chat, but had I seen a chat, a species I have only seen once and not in New York State, the blog post would have been labeled something like “Holy S$&@ I Saw a Chat.”

I hope the absurd difficulty of this quiz didn’t keep you from entering…and fear of Jason making you look silly doesn’t keep you from entering the next one!