Spectrum #64: Order these birds by typical weight — the solution

The Spectrum puzzle from October 17, 2026: six things on one hidden scale, lightest to heaviest, with every figure and where the checks were best spent.

The puzzle

Order these birds by typical weight, lightest at the top and heaviest at the bottom. The board opened in this order:

1. Bald eagle
2. Crow
3. Sparrow
4. Robin
5. Hummingbird
6. Cardinal

Robin was already in place; Bald eagle opened 5 places from home.

The walkthrough

The ends first. Hummingbird is the lightest of the six at 0.11 oz and Bald eagle the heaviest at 170 oz. Anchor those and the middle four are what is left to place.

Where the scale splits. The widest gap is between Crow (16 oz) and Bald eagle (170 oz) — 154 oz apart. Everything above that line belongs on the lightest side and everything below it on the heaviest side, so sorting the six into those two groups is most of the puzzle.

The closest call. Sparrow (1 oz) and Cardinal (1.6 oz) are only 0.6000000000000001 oz apart — the pair that is a coin flip without the figures, and the place to spend a check: a check locks whatever is already right and leaves only the wrong tiles to swap.

The answer

Previous: Spectrum #63 (Fri, Oct 16) · Next: Spectrum #65 (Sun, Oct 18) · All Spectrum solutions

About Spectrum

Spectrum is Noggin’s daily ordering puzzle: six things, one hidden scale, three checks. Tiles in the right place lock green; the figures turn over when the board is done. How to play Spectrum, or play today’s.