Ryan Bushong Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Hi all, I saw this pair earlier today in the mountains of CO. Pretty sure this is a MEDU, but it is very dark blackish-brown versus the brown with rufous tones that I am familiar with in MEDU. Also, I'm not really seeing the internal markings on the body feathers. Date and location strongly support MEDU, as does the buffy throat/head versus cold grayish. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Bushong Posted July 8, 2020 Author Share Posted July 8, 2020 Just to clarify, the first and third pictures are of the male in question, while the second is of the female associating with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 The buffy aspect to the head suggests the possibility of Mottled genes, as does the short eyeline. The male is an ugly bird that I'd be leery of pigeon-holing into a particular species entry. I suggest Mexican/Mottled (or whatever the eBird entry is). From the few eBird photos from the region, west Texas seems to have a plethora of Mexican x Mottled. What a mess! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Tony Leukering said: The male is an ugly bird ... His Mama loves him. Yeah, 'ugly' from an identification angle. I don't know where the line is between 'challenging' and 'ugly' but he's way over it. Edited July 9, 2020 by Charlie Spencer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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