smittyone@cox.net

FYI, the images were taken in mid afternoon and were slightly under-exposed. They were "brightened" in post production, particularly to show detail lost in the dark shadows.

Seen this afternoon in NW Missouri. Is this a light morph Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk?

This small raptor flew past as I was photographing an eagle perched in a tree. Heavily cropped and underexposed -- camera settings were for a large perched bird, not an unexpected small bird flypast. Pics were taken today in NW Missouri.

Thank you very much meghann

Seen last Monday in NW Missouri. There were lots of White-crowned and Song Sparrows, but these were the only two pics I captured of this particular Sparrow. Any idea what kind it is?

Thank you. This one was actually correctly identified in my archives--but I did remove a bunch of Nashville Warbler pics that were incorrectly grouped in with it. Thanks for helping me clean up my act (I mean files).

Going through my archives and weeding out misidentified birds and ran across this one. It was seen in Rapids City, Illinois back in May 2017. What kind of Vireo was this?

Thanks Connor

Because of the Nashville Warbler ID I got here earlier today, I went back though my archives to pull these pics. I believe I probably misidentified them as well (I'm too embarrassed to say what I though they were). Pics were taken at DeSoto NWR, western Iowa, back in September 2020. Were these Nashville Warblers?

Thank you. That explains why they don't show up when I play Cornell Labs recordings of (Sooty) Fox Sparrows).

Seen yesterday at DeSoto NWR, near Missouri Valley, Iowa. I'm pretty sure this is a Fox Sparrow. Only the 2nd one I've ever seen. Is it a Red or Sooty subspecies of Fox Sparrow?

Seen yesterday at DeSoto NWR, near Missouri Valley, Iowa. Is this a Blue-headed Vireo?

It was seen today at Loess Bluffs NWR near Mounds City, MO. All pics are of the same bird. I tried to provide front, back, and side views.

I saw this Eastern Towhee at DeSoto NWR last week. Is this bird just molting, or is there a pigment issue going on? By pigment issue, I mean partially leucistic, or something like that.

Thanks everyone for your inputs. Follow-up question--Since the consensus seems to lean towards immature/juvenile male RBGB, do they go through this transition every year? Or would this be a "first summer" male? Because I've only seen adult RBGB before yesterday, I'm unfamiliar with their molting process.

Although I agree that this bird's chest is pretty "streaky", a Google image search for female RBGB didn't present any pics with reddish or rosy breasts, while an image search for immature males showed variations from very streaky, to no streaks at all. I'm certainly no expert, and I value your thoughts on this, but I'll wait for more folks to share their wisdom.

Seen yesterday under dark gloomy skies at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, Iowa. I initially thought this was just a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, until it turned around. Despite the muted colors (heavily overcast that day), I can clearly see pinkish red tones on it's chest. This just seemed a little "different" from female RBGR that I've seen, and I've never seen an immature male RBGR, as far as I know.

I presume these two gulls are young Ring-billed Gulls because they were the same size as the rest of the flock of adult Ring-billed Gulls. There were non-breeding Franklin's gulls (much smaller) and a pair of Forster's Terns mixed in as well. Is the 1st pic (the one on the grass) a First Summer bird, and the 2nd pic a Second Summer bird? They were seen yesterday in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

I made the mistake, so it's OK to make fun of myself.

Sooo, when they're molting from juvenile plumage into adult plumage, what do you call them? Tweens?

I saw a guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Omaha once--that's kind of tropical.

A pair of Terns was hanging out with Ring-billed Gulls at Lake Manawa, Council Bluffs, IA, today. Are these non-breeding adult Forster's Terns? I think Arctic Terns would be rare in my area, and Common Terns only the upper half of their bill is black? So Forster's is kind of my only choice, yes?

Thanks for the help. Not the answer I was hoping for, but at least this pic will get transferred to the appropriate folder.

I've been reading about Tropical Kingbirds, and how they, and Cassin's Kingbirds, look similar to Western Kingbirds. This prompted me to look back in my archives and scrutinize my "Western" Kingbird pics. This pic, taken in Omaha back in June 2016 was originally ID'd as a Western Kingbird. Now I have doubts. The bill seems too large to be a Western. A Cassin's bill is larger, and a Tropical is even larger than that. I also don't see the prominent white edge to the tail feathers--a prominent feature on Western Kingbirds. Either a Cassin's or a Tropical, would both be new Lifer birds for me. Is this either, or just wishful thinking?

That was quick! Thanks folks.