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ID help please - USA birds (1 Viewer)

J

James B

Active member
Hi All

Could I please have some help with identifying these birds from my travels around the USA in May this year.

1 - Ranch in Texas
2 - Yosemite national park
3 - Yosemite national park
4 - California Coast
5 - Santa Barbara sea

Thanks!
 

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I'm not sure it's too clear on the photo, but the bird in image 3 has a yellowish throat if it helps anyone.

The sea bird in image 5 was about 2 - 3 miles off shore from Santa Barbara bay, while we were on a whale watching trip. There were several groups of 6 - 8 of these birds.
 
James B said:
I'm not sure it's too clear on the photo, but the bird in image 3 has a yellowish throat if it helps anyone.
Click to expand...

The dark marks on the undertail may be a more useful character; my best guess Western Wood Pewee, but see what other people with local expertise say.

James B said:
The sea bird in image 5 was about 2 - 3 miles off shore from Santa Barbara bay, while we were on a whale watching trip. There were several groups of 6 - 8 of these birds.
Click to expand...

My best guess Xantu's Murrelet, but as with the above, wait for replies by those with local expertise.
 
Nutcracker said:
The dark marks on the undertail may be a more useful character; my best guess Western Wood Pewee, but see what other people with local expertise say.



My best guess Xantu's Murrelet, but as with the above, wait for replies by those with local expertise.
Click to expand...

Xantu's Murrelet is the closest I got in Sibley....
 
1. Juvenile Eastern Phoebe
2-3. Eastern Wood-Pewees (note extremely long primary projection) EDIT: I mean Western Wood-Pewees!
4. Immature Heermann's Gull
5. Pass
 
Last edited:
Assuming the murrelet is of the former Xantus's complex (with which I agree) it is a Scripps's Murrelet which has been split from Guadalupe.
Peter
 
Agree with Tom.

Im not sure whether Scripps' can be separated from Craveri's based on that picture, but given that Scripps' nest on Santa Barbara Island while the Craveri's nest in Mexico, the odds are it's a Scripps'.
 
A number of factors strongly favor Scripps's. Craveri's is a late summer or early fall bird in California. Craveri's often holds its tail upright. The separation of the black and white in the face comes to the gape in Scripps's and the chin in Craveri's. Although it's easier to see in flight, Craveri's shows a downward "spur" of black at the shoulder which is equivocal in this photo.
Peter
 
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