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Bird ID Request -- San Antonio, Texas (1 Viewer)

D

doctorxring

Member
This bird was sighted by a friend of mine in September in San Antonio, Texas.
In the second pic he is eating a larvae from a yellow jacket nest.
Please excuse the pic quality as these were crops.

Can someone ID this for me. THANKS !

Chris


(please click thumbnails)
 

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It does look like some kind of Tanager, but know that San Antonio is outside the normal range of Hepatic Tanager, and it is quite rare in that area. Searching on e-bird, I found only 2 records of Hepatic Tanager anywhere near San Antonio in the last 10 years. So it would be a very noteworthy record.

Another option would be Summer Tanager, which is quite common in San Antonio.
 
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The first photo appears to show a loral line and a moustachial stripe, plus the bill in #3 doesn't have that big, chunky look I'd expect from Summer. The forehead doesn't look particularly flat and the crown is more flat than peaked. Looks better for Hepatic than Summer.
 
I've looked at this a few times and can't see any good reason to think it's anything other than a Summer Tanager. The bill looks quite big and pale to me. In the first picture it seems very uniformly yellow on the underparts, with no trace of the grey flanks I'd expect on a Hepatic. I can't see any obvious problems for Summer Tanager, which has to be the default bird in San Antonio.
 
Sibley clearly illustrates and notes Hepatic with the obvious 'bright forehead', a notable feature on this bird. If it were not for location this would be a straight Hepatic.


Andy
 
andyadcock said:
Sibley clearly illustrates and notes Hepatic with the obvious 'bright forehead', a notable feature on this bird. If it were not for location this would be a straight Hepatic.


Andy
Click to expand...

Presumably the absence of grey flanks in the first, rather clear, picture are not a problem for a 'straight Hepatic' even though they are equally clearly illustrated in Sibley?
 
Six of one etc......which is the most diagnostic of the two features if any, the very bright and contrasting forehead is a real feature of this bird and not of Summer?

I'd like to see more American opinion, after all, they see a lot more than we do!




Andy
 
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andyadcock said:
Six of one etc......which is the most diagnostic of the two features if any, the very bright and contrasting forehead is a real feature of this bird and not of Summer?

I'd like to see more American opinion, after all, they see a lot more than we do!




Andy
Click to expand...

Summer is pretty variable in tone and can certainly show a bright yellow forehead, but I think Hepatics (at least American ones) should show grey on the flanks. What I would emphasise most is that the first picture is much the clearest for assessing the plumage tone and most other features, and that picture really doesn't look at all like a Hepatic to me.

One other point worth making is the strikingly pale legs of this bird, unlike the black legs Sibley illustrates for all tanagers. The birds don't always read the books, I guess.
 
Dying for clearer pics...They look like they are on a camera, can the actual images be uploaded? Any pictures showing different angles would help as well.
 
andyadcock said:
Come on, there must be a few Americans who can definitively ID this bird!

Andy
Click to expand...

Another one of these cases where an eye-witness report could tell us a lot more than the photos can; because of shadow and highlighting, for instance, I have no idea what the true colour of the bill is. Also, in one photo, it looks like the bird has a dark auricular "mask" (good for Hepatic) but in the other photos I don't see it; just shading?

Peter


P.S. : Want to find out what a yellow jacket is? 1) Visit anywhere in southern Canada. 2) Sit outside. 3) Open a beer, or can of fizzy drink. 4) Wait 20 seconds.

The insects swarming all around you are yellow jackets.
 
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How important are the features already highlighted, bright yellow fore-crown v lack of grey flanks?

Does Summer ever show such a yellow fore-crown, can Hepatic be so uniformly yellow?

Andy
 
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