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ID help, please? Moab, UT USA (1 Viewer)

Katemail13

Katemail13

Southeastern Utah, USA
Hi, all.

I saw this bird (though not well) yesterday (May 18, 2009) in a deep canyon, next to a stream. His song was similar to (but not the same as) a rock wren. Could this be a canyon wren? Or maybe I was hearing another bird's song, and seeing this guy? Thanks for any help, and I apologize for the not great photos. He was pretty far away.
 

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I don't know if he'd be a Dipper - he's got a long, wren-like tail. You can sort of see it in the second and third photos.
 
Katemail13 said:
I don't know if he'd be a Dipper - he's got a long, wren-like tail. You can sort of see it in the second and third photos.
Click to expand...

Well, if long-tailed, definitely not a Dipper. But, do you actually remember the tail or are you just inferring it from what you see in the photos (I must say I didn't notice any traces of the tail when I first looked at the photos, though looking at them again I think I see what you mean).
 
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At the moment I would go with the Rock Wren over the Dipper...the buffy color for one, the long beak and not to mention no tail. The stance is not really Rock Wrenish although the region found etc is to the liking of that Wren....
 
Oh...not the Canyon Wren which was another suggestion because the white on the chest and below throat is missing, at least in the picture. I don't think the dipper because of the colorations of the body plus the beak of a dipper has no color, all black. This image appears to have a brownish to yellow/orange beak?
 
Definitely not a wren of any kind in my opinion. A Rock Wren is a pale bird, and never shows the kind of dark gray coloration seen in the subject bird. It also has thinner dark legs, and a slightly down-curved bill. (see here: http://fireflyforest.net/images/firefly/2006/March/rock-wren.jpg). None of these are evident here.

Juvenile dippers, on the other hand, can show a pale bill. (And Sibley lists this plumage for May-September, so it is not too early.). It also has pale legs, as noted above. See here: http://mypage.uniserve.ca/~djperrin/American Dipper.jpg

Best,
Jim
 
I'm also still in the Dipper camp. Re bill color: it's right for a juvenile & that's what I think our bird is.

Edit: Oops, sorry--anticipated again.
 
I am wondering if it might be something other than a dipper or wren, too. I am pretty sure it's not a rock wren, as it was more of a grey color, and rock wrens are brownish - we have lots of those.

Thanks for all your input, guys! Keep it coming! :)
 
Something else? I can't think of anything & I live in Nevada, just one state over & with a very similar avifauna. The problem, I think, is mainly one of photographic context--all that green grass & no obvious running water. But according to the OP a fast-moving stream was in the immediate vicinity & it's presumably just a matter of chance that the photos don't show this. My guess is that if they did, "Dipper" as the ID would spring a lot more readily to mind.

Of course, the fact that the tail is concealed in the photos isn't a lot of help either.
 
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The rock the bird is sitting on is actually touching the water. I went back to look, and none of the photos I got show that, but really - it's right on the water.

However, the bird flew down to that rock from the cliff above, maybe trying to lure us away from his nest...
 
veagle said:
Definately not a dipper.

Veagle
Click to expand...

I'm open to non-wren suggestions (and I agree we don't see the classic Dipper silhouette here), but is there anything in the photos that is inconsistent with Dipper? The thickish pale legs with long toes, the thickish long, straight bill, and the dark gray coloration seem to eliminate just about everything else.

Best,
Jim
 
I doubt that a Dipper would fly down from a cliff above the canyon! I believe it would tend to stay pretty low in its environment/habitat. Still pretty much of a "mystery bird" to me.

Katemail13 said:
The rock the bird is sitting on is actually touching the water. I went back to look, and none of the photos I got show that, but really - it's right on the water.

However, the bird flew down to that rock from the cliff above, maybe trying to lure us away from his nest...
Click to expand...
 
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