Time for our first quiz of the month of March. Just to help narrow the field, our bird this week is a species that regularly occurs within the U.S. and not one of those that you will only find on a lucky day in the extreme southwest.Our bird last week was in the early stages of molting to breeding plumage, but a key field mark was really that long drooping bill. The other items to note were the new rufous colored feathers on its back and the black feathers, which will be quite distinct when the molt is complete, beginning to show on the belly. I learned just last week that this species name is based upon a color that I had never heard of before: dun (a brownish-gray, and not being a horse person, a name used somewhat frequently to describe the color of horse). Calidris alpina, or Dunlin, is the answer to last week's quiz.
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