Ahem,

Let it be known that from this day forth none other than our
esteemed colleague Michael R. Smith from the institution known as the
University of Washington is a Master Birder. On April 15th of the
one-thousand, nine hundred and ninety-sixth year of cultivated rutabegas,
he did courageously and competently identify both birds in the quiz on the
very first try. Although the competition was harsh (Michael competed
against three listservers of birders), he did prove himself a Birder of
Exceptional Mettle and earned the respect due to an observer of his high
Quality. (He also won a free trip to his CLOSET!) Ahem. Let us take a
moment of silence in honor of his amazing skill.


















Good job, Michael! If anyone else would care to walk in his footsteps (so
far, no one else has identified both birds correctly), you may try to
perform this Herculean task at:
http://www.uidaho.edu/~scott931/mystere/birds.html

Good luck to all you would-be Master Birders.

-Pat
scott931 at uidaho.edu

P.S. Asking him what the answers are is no fair. I checked. Honest.