smittyone@cox.net Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Seen last Wednesday at DeSoto NWR near Missouri Valley, IA. Is this a Traill's Flycatcher? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 Looks good for an Alder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted May 29, 2020 Author Share Posted May 29, 2020 I understood from previous postings here that both Alder and Willow were in my area. And that the two were indistinguishable (except by song). Therefore, typically they're just caller Traill's, as that encompasses both. Am I wrong, or am I just being lazy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted May 29, 2020 Share Posted May 29, 2020 (edited) Generally they are indistinguishable except for birds on the far end of the spectrum. There are a suite of traits you can use to distinguish the two, and this bird seems to show all of those which pertain to Alder - flat crown, bright green upperparts, relatively short fat bill, thin but complete white eyering - so I’d feel fairly confident calling this an Alder even without vocalizations. There are definitely some intermediate birds which can’t be positively identified though. Edited May 29, 2020 by Phalarope713 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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