Kittipaws Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 These were from August 31 at a stop in Carrizozo, NM. I thought the really bad gas station pics were of a roadrunner at first, but it appears to be about the same height as the pigeon, and I thought a roadrunner would be much taller? The second set are three kingbirds I believe. I know there are different species of kingbirds in the southwest, and I probably wouldn't know which even if the photos were decent. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 (edited) The first 2 Kingbird photos look like Cassin’s Kingbird. I’m not sure about the last photo, could be Western Kingbirds. Bird on the roof with the pigeon, part of me wants to say Roadrunner but part of me thinks Grackle Edited October 27 by AlexHenry 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 I got a grackle impression too, but... Is the first bird molting? The head and neck appear too narrow in proportion to the body, almost featherless. I checked Macaulay and it looks like roadrunners have longer tails and bulkier bodies than this bird. 4 hours ago, Kittipaws said: it appears to be about the same height as the pigeon, and I thought a roadrunner would be much taller? Roadrunners are bigger than pigeons, maybe twice the height, but they're not large birds (despite how Looney Tunes portrays them. In their defense, I've seen some rabbits that are the same size as some ducks. ) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caley Thomas 2.0 Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 Pics 3, 4, 5: Pigeon on left for sure. Confused by the bird on the right. Pics 6, 7: I think Cassin's Kingbird too, noting the ashy-colored throat to distinguish it from Western/Tropical Kingbird species (beyond any potential range issues which may or may not be relevant)... Pic 8: Kingbird sp. Just my less-relevant 2 cents as compared to the gentlemen above...:-). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 I can totally confirm, that there are no Roadrunners here. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 34 minutes ago, Kevin said: I can totally confirm, that there are no Roadrunners here. By 'here', do you mean where you are in central TX, or 'here' in this particular discussion and set of photos? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 2 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: By 'here', do you mean where you are in central TX, or 'here' in this particular discussion and set of photos? I mean in these photos, in this particular discussion and set of photos. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 I like the molting-grackle theory, and I agree with Cassin's Kingbird for the first two. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Spencer Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 9 minutes ago, Kevin said: I mean in these photos, in this particular discussion and set of photos. Now that we've cleared that up, have you seen one that far east? They're fun little critters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted October 27 Share Posted October 27 13 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said: Now that we've cleared that up, have you seen one that far east? They're fun little critters. Yeah, they have nested in my yard before. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittipaws Posted October 28 Author Share Posted October 28 I googled “molting great-tailed grackle”, and that is absolutely what the scrawny bird is. I found pics that looked just like my bird including the two or three scrappy tail feathers. So thanks for that! Also, I singled out, cropped closer, and lightly edited the kingbirds that are in the photo of two birds. I doubt it will be much more helpful in identifying, but mostly I want to see if the photos lose much quality once I upload them here because at this point they're better than the ones posted above. Merlin calls all four of these photos Western Kingbirds but calls the single-photo bird above a Cassin's as you folks did. Thanks so much! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aidan B Posted October 28 Share Posted October 28 1 hour ago, Kittipaws said: These photos are definitely Western. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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