Plinth scanning incorrect animal

I am very new to the game, but it has happened every time I have tried to play the piece. Every time I scan what I believe to be an eagle, the plinth reads it as an octopus and forces me to play octopus. This happens even if the octopus is already in play and can't be placed again. 

So far no other pieces have scanned incorrectly.

The game manual directed me here for help. Any ideas how to fix the scanning issue?