photog46

This nest was on the ground in the woods in southern New Hampshire. Near an old logging road. About 4" in diameter. An area with lots of ferns. The eggs look like they are the color of robins' eggs, but the nest seems small and I don't know that a ground nest would be typical for a robin. Any ideas? Thanks!

All seen at Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, east-central Massachusetts on May 11. First two are the same bird. Seemed like a Brown Thrasher bill, but there are no wing bars that I can see, so I am stumped. The third is some kind of warbler, but the head-on shot confuses me. The last two could be the same bird or one of them a second similar bird in the same area. One or both of these last ones may be a Golden-crowned Kinglet, but I haven't ever seen one. None of the pictures is great, so it makes ID harder for me. Thanks for the help!

Thanks to both for your thoughts. I'm glad it didn't look to either of you like the Angel Wing issue, so I hope the bird was able to manage without the feathers.

I saw this surf scoter April 1st at Scarborough Marsh in Maine. It was surprising to me to see it there since I associate these birds with open ocean water, but I am new to Maine (and a not-too-experienced birder) and don't have much knowledge of the range of various species. I noticed that there are bare shafts in the tail feather area. In February, I submitted a photo of an eider with similar bare shafts (but on the wings), and responders suggested it was condition called Angel Wing that can afflict birds that consume food that is not healthy for them. Is this surf scoter suffering from a similar condition, or is this a natural phenomenon? Could the issue have anything to do with the bird hanging out in a salt marsh all by itself instead of being part of a larger group on the ocean? Thanks for your help.

Thanks for the information, sad as it is. This bird was out on the water and I don't imagine it had been in close contact with humans in its life, but who knows?

Can someone explain what is happening to the wings of what I believe is a female Common Eider? Is this some kind of molting or does the bird have a real problem? Southern Maine coast February 18. Thanks very much.

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

The pictures are of the same bird, but hard for me to tell which Chiffchaff it is. The way the pale yellow extends into the cheeks, and the legs which seem black but have lighter feet as can happen with Iberian, and the pretty clear and yellow supercillium make me think Iberian. Seen in Northern Spain in early September. It was hopping around in brush beside a stream. Thanks for any ideas.

Thanks for the information. I looked at better pictures of the Short-tailed Snake Eagle (called Short-toed in the very limited book of birds of Spain that I have), and that certainly seems a reasonable ID. The tail bands really had me leaning against Buzzard or Booted Eagle, so it's good to have the ID.

I am pretty sure that the first one is a Booted Eagle and the second is a Common Buzzard. Having a hard time with the third--the tail bands make me think it might be a Eurasian Sparrowhawk, but perhaps it's one of the other two--a juvenile or a different morph or something else altogether? Confirmation of the Eagle and Buzzard and ideas about the one I can't identify would be much appreciated. Seen late summer in northern Spain. Didn't have my longer lens on the trip, so the pictures are not great. Happy New Year, fellow birders!

Thank you !

I have a hard time with some sparrow identifications, especially when the photos are not as clear as I would like. Can you help with this one? Maybe a juvenile field sparrow (pink bill) or song sparrow (raggedy forked tail) or tree sparrow (streaking and dark area on breast)? I think the pink bill is throwing me off. Seen in July in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Thanks for your ideas!

Thanks to all! I learn so much from these posts and enjoy looking at other people's posts as well (sometimes I see if I can identify the bird in someone's post and then check my answer against the knowledgeable people who respond).

Sighted 9/22/21 in southern Maine on a small freshwater lake. I believe they are female and immature Hooded Mergansers (lower mandible is yellowish on female, body mostly brownish on both), but could they possibly be female and immature Red-breasteds? The bills seem to me too dark and thick for RB's. Sorry the pictures are not ideal--the birds were a bit far away for my lens, the day was overcast, and the birds were pretty backlit. Is the last picture a female Merlin (sighted hunting at same lake)? Thanks for any help!

And now I am noticing the white strip extending at the rear of the face--perhaps another ID hint. Thanks for the help. I always learn something new on Whatbird (sometimes just how much of a newbie I am compared to others who have so much knowledge at their fingertips!).

I saw this off the coast of Maine near Portland October 18. It was diving frequently and was all by itself other than a few eiders in the area. It looks like a Common Loon to me--either immature or non-breeding adult, but I am puzzled by the yellow on the bill. Does the yellow mean it's an immature one or have I got the ID wrong to begin with? It was a bit too far for my lens so the image is a bit blurry. Thanks!

I think it looks more like Blue-chested than the others mentioned. And my Birds of Costa Rica book notes that the female Blue-chested has "a relatively long, straight bill with pink basal half of lower mandible." A couple of the pictures would seem to show that. And this bird's range would include this area. Thanks for the help! Bird identification detective work is really fun! I also got a picture of the Rufous-tailed Hummingbird (mentioned in earlier responses) at La Selva. Picture is attached.

Here are some other views. Do these views help narrow it down?

Seen in December in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica at La Selva Biological Station. Having a hard time identifying this. Perhaps it is an immature (note head and back feathers that don't seem to have fully developed color yet), or perhaps it is molting? Thanks for any ideas!

With the narrower bills and slightly less chunky bodies, the green and gray warbler finches seem like such outliers when you look at the other Galapagos finches. I'm glad my speculation was right on this one--thanks for confirming it!

This pandemic is giving me time to look over pictures I have taken on several trips. I am having a hard time with ID's for some of the finches of the Galapagos, a trip we took in 2016. The first picture was taken on the island of Espanola (maybe a green or grey warbler-finch?). The second picture was on Floreana, the third on San Christobel, and the last on South Plaza. It would be fitting for the last one to be a Cactus Finch given where it is perched, but I thought the male Cactus Finch had a dark beak (I assume this is a male with the black body). I believe the female finches tend to be more brown with streaking. Thanks for any help on these ID's!

Central Massachusetts. My daughter-in-law sent this today. She said it was pretty large. Is it a juvenile Cooper's? Those tail bands and the large size make me think it is, but could it be a Sharp-shinned? Or something else entirely? Thanks!

I saw this in the Okavango Delta in Botswana in May 2018 and am just now trying to figure out which Sunbird it is. I am quite sure it is a female, and my current candidates are Marico, Amethyst, or Scarlet-chested. The photo is a little difficult since it foreshortens the bill and does not show enough underparts to see if there is some yellow on them. It's also hard to determine how much of a white streak there is over the eye. Any ideas? Thanks so much!