Yucatan, Various (1 Viewer)

[rylirk]

Part four of my ongoing effort to purge dodgy records from my list... a few from Yucatan way back in April 2015.

1. From a cenote near Valladolid. I have this down as Brown-Crested Flycatcher but I find these neotropic yellow-and-grey flycatchers nigh on impossible to separate...
2. From Uxmal. Reasonably confidant this is Social Flycatcher, but I have similar issues with these kinds of flycatcher too!
3. From Uxmal. Terrible photo which I had down as a Vaux's Swift. Looks to me to be a swift based on shape here but yeah... I'm erring towards this not being IDable.
4. From Uxmal. I had this completely out of focus shot down as a Cinnamon Hummingbird based on the breast colour, but I'm thinking this one's going to need purging too. I reckon there's probably enough in the image to rule out Buff-Bellied at least, but beyond that...

 

[Butty]

2. Social flycatcher is fine - for that region: small bill, huge supercilium, no obvious rufous in wing.

 

[THE_FERN]

I can't see enough in your Myiarchus pic to rule out (e.g.) Great crested but I'm on mob and can't really adjust colours etc. It seems quite brightly coloured (pro great crested)

Yes social fly

The swift is plausibly vaux's based on colour pattern. It's pretty common.

 

[njlarsen]

Most months of the year, the swift would be safe, but April is exactly when Chimney Sw would come through as migrant according to eBird.

Great crested is still there in April.
Niels

 

[rylirk]

Most months of the year, the swift would be safe, but April is exactly when Chimney Sw would come through as migrant according to eBird.

Great crested is still there in April.
Niels

Do you think the flycatcher is more likely to be a Great Crested then? Or is it not possible to tell?

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Hummer looks good for Cinnamon to me, and no other realistic candidate springs to mind, but then, it's not my list!

 

[THE_FERN]

Most months of the year, the swift would be safe, but April is exactly when Chimney Sw would come through as migrant according to eBird.

Great crested is still there in April.
Niels

Not seen chimney swift, but judging by photos I would not expect to see the dark saddle of the wings contrasting with the paler front and rear [as here]. Chimney seems to be much more uniformly grey, especially at the back end. The contrast is noticeable for Vaux's though.

The flycatcher may be brown-crested: I tried adjusting curves but there's no hint of a pale bill base (like great crested). Otoh, it's very bright yellow below and this extends quite far up the chest (favours great crested). The undertail shows "fairly extensive rufous" in the centre but darker towards the edges, and pale at the edge. Perhaps slightly better for brown-crested.

 

[Butty]

the dark saddle of the wings

Saddles are on the upperparts, yes? - the back, essentially. In which case (I think) you think that we're seeing this bird from above and the front and the right? Whereas I think we're looking at the underparts, and seeing it from below and the rear and right. Which would make it... I've no idea. I'm not even going to call it certainly a swift - or a hirundine - or an anything.

 

[rylirk]

Not seen chimney swift, but judging by photos I would not expect to see the dark saddle of the wings contrasting with the paler front and rear [as here]. Chimney seems to be much more uniformly grey, especially at the back end. The contrast is noticeable for Vaux's though.

Yes the chimney swifts I have seen have all been plain jobbies, very similar to common swift in terms of over colouration. So unless the colouration on the image is an artefact, I don't think this can be Chimney. However I think this conversation has told me enough to know I shouldn't be counting this as anything at any rate Another one bites the dust!