Jerry Friedman

Thanks. They seem to sound different every time.

Española, N.M., May 21. Maybe some kind of wren? https://clyp.it/3olb1txm

Welcome to Whatbird! It's very hard to identify bird calls from descriptions. You might try listening to different songs of Carolina Wren and Tufted Titmouse at xeno-canto. Both species are variable, so you probably won't find an exact match, but you might find the right tone and tempo. If you can get a recording, somebody here might be able to identify it.

A small black and white bird with a really long tail might be a Pin-tailed Whydah.

Welcome to Whatbird, ohsiyo! There's not much space here for uploads, so most people eventually upload their pictures to a hosting service and link to them here. Some sites, such as Flickr and Imgur, can give you a BBCode link so your picture previews here and people don't need to click through to it.

Dan Lane at xeno-canto said 3 was a Cooper's Hawk and 4 was a Helmeted Guineafowl (which they have on that farm). Still interested in the flycatcher, but that doesn't mean it's identifiable (and sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out so big).

I'm thinking Hepatic Tanager. The habitat seems right, as do the gray bill and cheek.

Thanks! They're not very common around here.

Riparian woods, Española, N.M., this morning. 1. The teardrop-shaped eye-ring makes me think it's a Cordilleran, but I think it's one of the two that chased each other right near me, making low buzzes, which I haven't heard from Cordilleran. 2. Confirm Gray Catbird? In a willow thicket next to the Rio Grande. https://clyp.it/yl4msov2 3. Very close to me, as you might guess. It sounded as if it was no higher than my head. Maybe an alarm call? https://clyp.it/2mcbbahl 4. In a field or shade trees or in a hobby farm fairly far from the river. Maybe a domestic bird? https://clyp.it/rtsxb2no

Any thoughts on this cormorant? Española, N.M., May 11. Both species have been seen at this pond this spring.

By the way, if you do see a Willow Flycatcher at this time of year, it's probably a migrant of the subspecies that nests farther north, not a Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. Local birders might be able to tell you what time of year you can be certain that a Willow Flycatcher is Southwestern. (Here in New Mexico, I've heard that it's only July, but I don't know whether that's true.) if you see one nesting or recently fledged in southern Nevada, it would also have to be Southwestern.

Since I'm on a streak of one for hawks, I'm going to suggest Swainson's (adult, intermediate or rufous morph), with the white over and beside the bill, and the white mark on the breast suggesting a "bib". A Red-tail would have more mottled plumage with a visible belly-band (unless it was much darker than this). Harlan's in particular is mottled, never has this much rufous as far as I knew, and should be in Canada or Alaska now. Corey, if you got even a bad shot of the tail, that might help. That rock is so inconvenient. 🙂

Going for Broad-winged because of the four emarginated primaries. I could be wrong.

Thanks!