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Flycatcher ID Help, Please (1 Viewer)

Marysan

Well-known member
Saw a pair of small birds that flew like Black Phoebes (but were'nt) and got a series of photos. I think the birds were Brown-crested Flycatchers and would like to get confirmation or otherwise on the ID. These birds stayed low ,perching on the rope railing or on a small low shrub. Can't remember any sound from them. I've seen Ash-throated Flycatchers in other San Diego locations but this was the first time I'd seen such a bird at the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach, CA. The Ash-throated Flycatchers I've seen have always stayed high in a tree. The two birds were flitting about as I was shooting so I can't say that all the photos posted are of the same bird.

Thanks for any help,
Marysan
 

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Marysan said:
Saw a pair of small birds that flew like Black Phoebes (but were'nt) and got a series of photos. I think the birds were Brown-crested Flycatchers and would like to get confirmation or otherwise on the ID. These birds stayed low ,perching on the rope railing or on a small low shrub. Can't remember any sound from them. I've seen Ash-throated Flycatchers in other San Diego locations but this was the first time I'd seen such a bird at the Tijuana Estuary in Imperial Beach, CA. The Ash-throated Flycatchers I've seen have always stayed high in a tree. I will attache several photos of the bird and you can see more photos of them at
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=8188740&uid=432834&members=1

Thanks for any help,
Marysan
____________________________
Howdy,
My two cents-don't have much experience with much more than GCFL and ATFL, but don't think this bird has the bill for Brown-crested. One picture shows the throat appearing gray, but others are uncertain or show it paling out. So I would lean in on calling it an Ash-throated.
CHEERS, JOE G
 
I always find Myiarchus flycatchers to be a real headache, so i will not be much help here. However, one of the birds clearly shows a completely rufous undertail. This rules out Ash-throated Flycatcher, which does not have this rufous colouration reaching as far as the tips of the undertail. The amount of rufous on the undertail would also rule out Dusky-capped. This would seem to make Brown-crested the most likely option. This bird does seem to have a slightly small bill for Brown-crested, but then the only other possibility is Great-crested, which also has a large bill.

Tom
 
Thanks, Tom, you are a great help. Yes, the ID is a headache. So much so that I've just labelled the photos at my website as Myiarchus Flycatchers and I'm going to leave it at that. I went back to the same location this morning to see if the birds might still be in the same area and hoping to hear their bird call but had no luck.
 
Interesting thread, and very nice photos. My reasoning is as follows:

1) Ash-throated is not disqualified as juveniles have more rufous tails than adults, and lack the dark band at the end.
2) The wing bars are quite whitish, which is good for Ash-throated
3) The belly is very pale yellow, also good for Ash-throated, not so good for Brown-crested, very bad for Great-crested
4) The bill size is just right for Ash-throated, wrong for Brown-crested
5) The habitat is right for Ash-throated, bad for Brown-crested or Great-crested
6) You saw two nearly identical birds, in range for Ash-throated, and out of range (albeit casual) for both other alternatives.

The chances of two out of range vagrants with matching abnormally small bills and abnormally pale bellies in inappropriate habitat is very close to zero. I think you can safely list the photos as Ash-throated Flycatchers.
 
Also note that the tail is very worn at the end. This brown feather edging to the two longest tail feathers has probably been worn away.
 
Hi Birdforum folks,

I've been reading the current Harrier thread:
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=66359&page=3&pp=40

mostly for seeing how we contributers treat one another on the forum, but I noticed Jane Turner's (post#110) list of puzzling threads that had proven challenging at the time. Anyway, I decided to have a look at the photos. In short, I completely agree with Thayeri and others here, that the bird is a juvenile Ash-throated Flycatcher. The behavior, location, habits all fit. The peculiar tail pattern is quite typical for this species in juvenile plumage too. Overall, the structure is good for Ash-throated too, gray color in face and forehead too, etc.

Chris
 
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