Flycatcher?? (1 Viewer)

[bobsofpa]

The attached photo was taken in early October in Cottonwood, AZ (near Sedona). It appears to be a Flycatcher but I can not pin down the species.

Bob Sheldon

 

[Katy Penland]

Unfortunately (for you) it's one of those Miyarchus flycatchers that cannot be separated with complete confidence without hearing the song. The most likely flycatcher for that area would be Ash-throated, but it's awfully warm-colored on the belly and vent for Ash-throated. The only other likely possibility is Brown-crested. And I am leaning more toward Brown-crested because of what looks like a pretty good-sized bill in your photo.

Wish I could be more definitive, but this genus and the Empidonax are almost impossible to differentiate between similarly looking birds without hearing them vocalize. And unfortunately (again, for you ), you saw this bird in the fall instead of spring, when they'd be singing like mad.

Maybe someone else can be more confident of an ID than I am. Beautiful shot, though! Lovely light.

 

[prairiemerlin]

Okay, I'm no expert about south-western flycatchers, but it does kind of look like a Say's Phoebe. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong, could someone else give their opionons?

 

[erizzo]

Yup, thats a Say's Phoebe for me. No other Flycatchers or Phoebes have that orange like that on the flanks. And the black tai, they all say Say's to me. But someone will probably come up wiht something that I missed and ID it as something else.

 

[TorchBCT]

Based on head and back shape, and pattern I would probably go with Brown-crested Flycatcher.

 

[bobsofpa]

Flycatcher

I was leaning toward it being a Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. The reason being is that the bird list for Dead Horse Ranch SP in Cottonwood, where I photographed this bird, lists the Brown-crested as uncommon and the Southwestern Willow as common.

What does anyone think about it being the Willow Flycatcher??

Bob Sheldon

 

[Jane Turner]

For what its worth I thought the bird looked like A Say's Phoebe too.. but I have minimal experience of US birds

 

[Katy Penland]

Say's Phoebe is a grayer bird than this one, has almost no crest and has an almost-black tail. I agree that the warmth of the underbelly is tempting, but I think on this bird it's due more to the warm light of the late afternoon/early morning, or during a smoky-hazy sky (which we're getting a lot of here in AZ this year). Say's Phoebe also has obviously darker lores, sometimes almost looking like a bit of a mask through the eye, which contrasts more sharply with the throat and breast, which is a very light gray. When you brighten this photo up, you can see how much more relatively light the underbelly appears, no dark lores, and still that brown overall cast.

Willow Flycatcher is a much smaller, less robust bird than this one, and particularly compared to the beak on this bird.

I'm certainly not willing to go to the mat for either Ash-throated or Brown-crested without hearing them, but I'm still leaning toward Brown-crested this morning. For what that's worth.

 

[dacol]

Okay, I'm no expert about south-western flycatchers, but it does kind of look like a Say's Phoebe. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong, could someone else give their opionons?

Looks like a Say's Phoebe to me too. Myiarchus flycatchers in the USA all have lower parts from pale to bright yellow depending on the species but not rufous as in the photo. Also the bill looks relatively small compared to the strong bills of Myiarchus.

Dalcio

 

[jsguenette]

Say's Phoebe is a grayer bird than this one, has almost no crest and has an almost-black tail.

For me, the bird on bobsofpa's picture has a really black tail, and I'm not sure that the rufous flanks are exclusively due to the afternoon light. Also, like dacol said, Myiarchus ssp. have all stronger bills than what we have here. Finally, some Say's Phoebes can show crest (see http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/showphoto.php/photo/19609/sort/1/cat/all/page/1). Based on that picture, which is very similar to bobsofpa's bird, I would definitively go for a Say's Phoebe.

 

[maitreya]

Say's Phoebe breeds annually at Fields in southeast Oregon, where I live. The salmon colored flanks are diagnostic. There is nothing in the photograph that is inconsistent with Say's Phoebe.

Say's Phoebe is a grayer bird than this one, has almost no crest and has an almost-black tail. I agree that the warmth of the underbelly is tempting, but I think on this bird it's due more to the warm light of the late afternoon/early morning, or during a smoky-hazy sky (which we're getting a lot of here in AZ this year). Say's Phoebe also has obviously darker lores, sometimes almost looking like a bit of a mask through the eye, which contrasts more sharply with the throat and breast, which is a very light gray. When you brighten this photo up, you can see how much more relatively light the underbelly appears, no dark lores, and still that brown overall cast.

Willow Flycatcher is a much smaller, less robust bird than this one, and particularly compared to the beak on this bird.

I'm certainly not willing to go to the mat for either Ash-throated or Brown-crested without hearing them, but I'm still leaning toward Brown-crested this morning. For what that's worth.

 

[Katy Penland]

Well, never let it be said I don't suck at IDing from photos, as I freely admit at least once a week. If you guys who see this bird more consistently than I do think it's Say's, I humbly defer.

 

[Tero]

Bob, if you can recollect the size at all, the bigger birds, of those mentioned, are phoebes. I would have been able to guess better if I had been there to compare it to something for size.

 

[jsguenette]

The size is not necessary to identify the bird here... I've never seen this bird (they are more than rare in eastern Canada...), but no other flycatcher than Say's Phoebe has a pale gray back, a black tail and rufous flanks (all characteristics relatively explicit in the bobsofpa's picture).

 

[oldsquaw]

The bird is definitly a Say's Phoebe. I've seen hundreds through the years in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and other states in SW USA.