IDs for Southwestern Texas? (1 Viewer)

[Tired]

These are all from a scrubby area on an exotic game ranch- antelope and the like. Uvalde County, which is one county over from Mexico. Lots of bird activity! I got a good thirty-seven species. I have a few I need additional opinions on.


1: Female or juvenile Vermillion Flycatcher, maybe?



2: Any pointers on which Myiarchus flycatcher?



3: This one, I don't know. I thought sparrow at first, but it looks odd to me. Any thoughts?

 

[qwerty5]

I think No. 3 is a Chipping Sparrow

 

[Butty]

2. From distribution and tail-pattern, I guess great crested flycatcher or (less likely for both those reasons) brown-crested flycatcher.

 

[Microtus]

Vermilion Flycatcher, possibly Brown-crested Flycatcher, and probably Chipping Sparrow.

 

[connorco]

The myiarchus is hard from this angle. I can confirm that 3 is a Chipping Sparrow though.

 

[THE_FERN]

For the second, I'd go with brown-crested: all dark bill, somewhat dull tail pattern, contrast of tertial white edges not very strong

 

[kevinsl06]

Uvalde County,

Nice! I have been there!
1 Vermilion Flycatcher.
2 Great Crested Flycatcher.
3 Chipping Sparrow.

 

[Butty]

2 Great Crested Flycatcher.

I'm guessing there are those here other than just me who would be interested in knowing why?

 

[peterginsburg]

It would be nice to have a voice recording but lacking that, how is Ash-throated eliminated? The brown of the outer rectrix vane appears to cross inward over the rachis. It's not a good angle but the bill does not seem very chunky. Not a determining factor but I believe given the location that Ash-throat would be the commoner species.

 

[Butty]

how is Ash-throated eliminated?

According to Sibley, the tail-tip pattern (probably) rules it out.

 

[peterginsburg]

Tail pattern is addressed directly in #9.

 

[Butty]

Sibley shows, and describes, the darker brown on the tip of the tail of ash-throated flycatcher extending across the whole width of the tail. On the OP's bird it does not do this - rather, it fits Sibley's illustration of great crested flycatcher or brown-crested flycatcher, in which the dark brown is only on the sides of the tail-tip.

 

[kevinsl06]

I'm guessing there are those here other than just me who would be interested in knowing why?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that Brown Crested does not so much white edging.

 

[peterginsburg]

Unfortunately field guides cannot show all plumage variations. Sibley's note in his FG states "usually extends across tip." Dittmann and Cardiff's seminal article on Myiarchus identification for the Louisiana Ornithological society points out variation in the rectrices of Ash-throated flycatcher.

 

[Tired]

It's a wonder anyone ever figured out how many Myiarchus species there are in the first place. I can't remember any details of the call on this one, I was distracted by vireo sounds and trying to locate everything I could hear in the area. I didn't see the front of it well enough to say anything about colors there.

That sparrow is still throwing me. I think it's the angle of the head, not showing many markings. It looks odd, almost like its head is nearly entirely pale, when sparrows usually seem to have pretty heavily marked faces and heads. But I'll definitely take Chipping Sparrow as an ID- I've found some pictures that are pretty close, and there were plenty of Chippings in the area.

 

[THE_FERN]

Unfortunately field guides cannot show all plumage variations. Sibley's note in his FG states "usually extends across tip." Dittmann and Cardiff's seminal article on Myiarchus identification for the Louisiana Ornithological society points out variation in the rectrices of Ash-throated flycatcher.

Thanks for pointing that article out:

Louisiana Ornithological Society

Looking again and reading this I now agree this must be ash-throated. The outer tail feather's pattern looks like the right hand example here:

Myiarchus Figure 7 by Donna L. Dittmann - LOS News - December 2000

 

[Butty]

Unfortunately field guides cannot show all plumage variations. Sibley's note in his FG states "usually extends across tip."

I know. That's why I said 'I guess' and 'probably'.

The outer tail feather's pattern looks like the right hand example here:

That seems to nail it! 👍🏻