Some updates 4 and 6 December –check out Jochen’s comments and blog post here With the predicted superflight of finches beginning to develop (1st ever Common Redpoll in New Mexico last week) more and more questions are coming up about finch identification. RedpollsHoary Redpoll, although always less numerous than Common south of the Arctic, is […]
Redpoll Identification Read More »
Great White Heron Ardea herodias occidentalis updated 13 Nov 2007, thanks to all those who have commented publicly and privately. I’ve backed off a bit from my criticism of the TBRC decision, the more I learn the less clear-cut this seems, although I still think it’s at least a good subspecies. Shaibal Mitra sent me
“Great White” Heron – not just a color morph Read More »
Green-breasted Mango Anthracothorax prevostii This species is not included in the Sibley Guide to Birds because at the time that I was planning the book there were only two records north of Mexico. By the time I had finished the book there were 7 records (enough to warrant inclusion, if only I had known sooner!).
Green-breasted Mangos in North America Read More »
Another note from the comments under Sandwich Tern by Joseph Kennedy on 4 September, this deserves a separate discussion (Thanks, Joseph). He writes: I have received a note Stu Wilson concerning the black tern pictures posted from the same date. I guess that I should check feet on the rest of my tern pictures. According
Black Tern and White-winged Tern – leg color Read More »
In an interesting 4 September comment under the Sandwich Tern bill color discussion, Joseph Kennedy presents a photo of a juvenile Royal Tern with partly yellow-orange legs. Compared to one of his photos of juvenile Sandwich with yellow legs, the Royal appears to have brighter leg color. Presumably that is variable, but it would be
Sandwich Tern – leg color Read More »
Size judgment is one of the constant quandaries of bird identification – critically important but fraught with error. In a recent online discussion about these photos of sandpipers in flight, I was intrigued by the question of how I, and others, “just knew” that these birds were too small to be Knot or Pectoral and
Judging size of birds Read More »
Several recent Massachusetts reports of Olive-sided Flycatchers seem to have used the presence of white patches on the sides of the back to age the birds as juveniles. This is incorrect and unfortunately the source of the error seems to be an ambiguous entry in the Sibley Guide – sorry. Both adults and juveniles can
Olive-sided Flycatcher – white patches and age in fall Read More »
— updated Sep 27, 2008 This photo by Greg Lavaty of Texas, generated a lot of discussion on the Texas Birds listserv recently, and brings up some interesting points and questions. First, this is definitely a juvenile Sandwich Tern, and the bill color is pretty typical of a recently fledged bird. Here are some photos of
Sandwich Tern – bill color of juveniles Read More »
Feb. 10, 2005 In late October 2004 I was privileged to visit the Nature Conservancy’s spectacular Santa Cruz Island preserve off the coast of Southern California. This island, along with the other California Channel Islands has been called the “Galapagos of the North” and has long been the focus of biological studies, but became more
Distinguishing Island and Western Scrub-Jays Read More »
December 11, 2004 I was intrigued by this problem in light of the discussion surrounding the recent (6 November 2004) bird from southern Texas (see photos here and here; and sincere thanks to Martin and Chris for making these photos available and thanks to all who have participated in the discussion and our collective education). We wouldn’t
Distinguishing South Polar Skua and Pomarine Jaeger Read More »