JaredD

Thanks all! This was indeed consensus among others I consulted, including Merlin (who I tricked into making an ID by changing the location of the encounter). It was also pointed out to me that a Scarlet Tanager right now wouldn't be as brilliantly red as a Summer...and perhaps not red at all.

During a morning walk without binoculars, I encountered an unfamiliar call (see recording). Eventually, the all red tanager making the call flew over me, but I didn't get good enough views to ID by sight. Both Scarlet and Summer Tanagers are rare here. Thoughts on which I've recorded? 2023-09-25 08_06 tanager.wav

I believe in Hoary Redpolls like I believe in Santa Claus: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/from-many-one-how-many-species-of-redpolls-are-there/#.

I appreciate horrible photos. More than that, I appreciate birds with a field marks distinct enough to be identified in a horrible photo. Cheers to the Fox Sparrow!

I find it to be more of a reference book than a book to sit with and read. Something to consult when I have a question about this or that bird name, but I haven't been working my way through it by any means. Kind of like a field guide, I guess, except to the names.

I prefer the French name (bois-pourri, or rotten wood) for Whip-poor-wills to the English one. And the Loggerhead Shrike. Birds of the World tells us their name in Mexico is the American Executioner or the American Hangman, a bit more descriptive of that bird's behavior than Shrike. Meanwhile, I just had this conversation with another birder: What's a Knot and why? There are a few good books about bird names, for those interested... Stephen Moss' Mrs. Moreau's Warbler, though it largely focuses on UK names. Susan Meyer's The Bird Name Book, which is a catalog of English language names.

My fav is Magnolia Electric Co.'s "Whip-poor-will." I've been blogging about songs that mention Whip-poor-wills. If you're interested, they're here.

On August 1, in my Denver-area (Colorado) yard, I followed around a bird calling like a corvid and chattering like an oriole. It was staying high in cottonwoods and elms. I saw it fly once (without binoculars, I was) and got the impression of an oriole-sized and oriole-colored bird -- a female or juvenile, as it was yellowish. Western Kingbirds, similarly-enough sized and colored, nest in the neighborhood. Bullock's Orioles, the most likely oriole visitor, don't, though they're at open spaces and state parks within 10 miles of my home. The corvid-like call is confounding me; I believe it was this bird and not one of the young Blue Jays in the neighborhood. (It didn't sound right for a Blue Jay, but I've been wrong enough with jays. It certainly doesn't sound like a Black-billed Magpie, but ditto. And I'm pretty sure it was coming from this bird.) The audio is attached and can be seen and heard on this eBird checklist. Note the following: my Moto cell phone mic is poor, there are backyard chickens and House Wren in the audio, and, while the calling is obvious, the specific chattering--when the bird flew away--is at 15 seconds. I'm not sure now if the second chattering (around 19 seconds) is the wren, but I think it is. While the most likely bird is a Bullock's Oriole, just wanted to get other ears on this. Thanks. whatbird.wav

I think Dusky Flycatcher is a possibility. It's among the most common empid. during migration through the Front Range. It's relatively moderately billed, shortish primary projection, and mostly grayish (though some olive wash is possible).

Agreed, this is a House Wren, a loud, bubbly-songed forest bird we have across the country.

These are great photos. I'm bad with empids., but I'm leaning toward Least. Alders are rather rare here in Colorado (though Willows, which are almost identical, are more common). The bill strikes me as too short and not wide enough for Alder, the eye ring too prominent, and the throat too gray. The photos of Alder's I'm seeing on allaboutbirds.org give the impression of birds with prominent, prominent bills, almost comically so.

Awesome. Thanks, both. This is consistent with what CO birders are also telling me. Glad to finally find and (sort of) identify one.

Because Hammond's Flycatcher remains my nemesis bird, I spend far too much time looking at photos of empids. The color (judged by empid standards) on this bird (Denver, Colorado area, today) is what has me stuck.

Yessir.

In my Denver, CO yard, I had a brief visit from a vireo yesterday. (A bit of fallout from a spring storm...) I first identified it as Cassin's, but I had a nagging feeling it was too yellow for that. Upon first glance, the bird seemed yellow like a Pine Warbler. My photos are ambivalent, depending on whether the bird is in the open or in leafy shrubs. Cassin's are regular, but uncommon migrants through the Denver metro area. Blue-headed Vireos are rare. I briefly convinced myself this is a Blue-headed, but I'm now back to leaning Cassin's, as too many of the photos in the shrubs show only slight and light yellow wash. I welcome second and third and fourth opinions, however.