Doc Duck
Well-known member
Dear experts, I have two questions today. Familiar birds, sort of, but puzzles nonetheless.
One puzzle concerns a sparrow. Crown clearly russet brown rather than grey, white collar (almost) ringing neck, black spot on cheek, so obviously a Eurasian Tree Sparrow, but ... there are some anomalies: 1) white collar does not go all the way around the neck, 2) cheek spot is unusually large and irregular with unclear edges (an extra smudge, main spot touching part of the brown crown plumage where it bends around the cheek), and 3) that black bib under the chin is bigger than for most Tree Sparrows, extending down onto his/her breast. So could this be a hybrid, Tree x House Sparrow? I didn't even know the two hybridized, but it turned up as an option on eBird.
Next puzzle what seems to be a juvenile Robin or perhaps Redstart. Sorry I didn't get a better pose with more of the breast and face showing. These two were the best I got. Are they good enough to make a determination as to which species? And can you confirm this is a youngster?
One puzzle concerns a sparrow. Crown clearly russet brown rather than grey, white collar (almost) ringing neck, black spot on cheek, so obviously a Eurasian Tree Sparrow, but ... there are some anomalies: 1) white collar does not go all the way around the neck, 2) cheek spot is unusually large and irregular with unclear edges (an extra smudge, main spot touching part of the brown crown plumage where it bends around the cheek), and 3) that black bib under the chin is bigger than for most Tree Sparrows, extending down onto his/her breast. So could this be a hybrid, Tree x House Sparrow? I didn't even know the two hybridized, but it turned up as an option on eBird.
Next puzzle what seems to be a juvenile Robin or perhaps Redstart. Sorry I didn't get a better pose with more of the breast and face showing. These two were the best I got. Are they good enough to make a determination as to which species? And can you confirm this is a youngster?
