Dan P Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 I was looking through some old photos over the past several years and I think I have found some photos of Kingbirds taken in northern Los Angeles County in the Antelope Valley and near Gorman. I'm thinking that Birds 1 through 3 are Cassin's Kingbirds based on the gray breast and white or yellowish throat. Bird 1) 2020-04-22 Antelope Valley 8276 (perched) Bird 2) 2018-04-21 Gorman Post Road (Pond) 2278 (in-flight) -- this site is a hotspot on eBird Bird 3) 2013-04-12 Gorman Ravine 497 (on wire) The other 3 were taken on the same date in 2013 at a site I call Gorman Ravine, about 1/2 mile southeast of Gorman on the northeast side of Gorman Post Road. Photos 4a and 4b are the same bird. Bird 5 (taken about 70 minutes after Bird 4a/b) may be the same bird or a different bird (and possibly a different species). Bird 4a) 2013-03-25 Gorman Ravine 278 (on tree limb) Bird 4b) 2013-03-25 Gorman Ravine 281 (taking off 3:29 pm) Bird 5) 2013-03-25 Gorman Ravine 446 (in-flight 4:39 pm) I'm thinking Bird 4a/b could be a Western Kingbird, and Bird 5 could be a Cassin's Kingbird (if they are not all 3 the same bird). Let me know your thoughts. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Highberger Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Not that familiar with west coast species but white outer line on tail feathers (readily apparent on last photo) usually means Western Kingbird here in Texas. But I will defer to the experts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Birds 2,4,5,and 6 are westerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 All are western Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan P Posted December 9, 2020 Author Share Posted December 9, 2020 Thank you all for your comments. I have a hard time with the Kingbirds. Bird 1 does not appear to have any white edges on the outer tail feathers (although they may be tucked under), and there does appear to be white tips on the ends of the tail feathers (could be reflection or other effect of the lighting). The poor exposure and the angle of the light causes the colors to be hard to discern, but I don't really see what would make this a Western. And Bird 3 does have white edges on at least two of the tail feathers, but from pictures of Cassin's on both WhatBird and eBird, it appears that Cassin's can also have some white on the edges of tail feathers. In fact, all of the diagnostic features of both Western and Cassin's seem to cross over when you look at the pictures of exemplars on WhatBird and eBird. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candydez12 Posted December 9, 2020 Share Posted December 9, 2020 1. Western Kingbird 2. Western Kingbird 3. Western Kingbird 4. Western Kingbird 5. Western Kingbird 6. Also a Western Kingbird All of these are Western Kingbirds ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.