PascalNJ Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Hi all, Due to the cold weather outside, I'm revisiting old pictures of past birding trips to find birds I have ignored. Here are 3 pictures of a Myiarchus flycatcher, I took in West Belize (near Mountain Pine Ridge), on December 29, 2015. These are the only 3 pictures I have of this bird. According to my 'Birds of Belize' book, I have 4 options: Dusky-capped (the most common), Great-crested, Yucatan (both less common) and Brown-crested (definitively the least common). I can't decide which is it. Any help will be welcomed. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Bump once ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I’m having trouble seeing this as anything other than an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which would be highly unusual for Belize I believe. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 1 hour ago, Avery said: I’m having trouble seeing this as anything other than an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which would be highly unusual for Belize I believe. My first thought was great crested, but the bill is wrong. It looks like ash throated to me too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 9 hours ago, Avery said: I’m having trouble seeing this as anything other than an Ash-throated Flycatcher, which would be highly unusual for Belize I believe. 7 hours ago, IKLland said: My first thought was great crested, but the bill is wrong. It looks like ash throated to me too. Thanks. Ash-throated has never been reported in Belize on eBird, so I doubt this is this bird. I can keep it as Myiarchus sp., no problem. Out of curiosity, why are you excluding Dusky-capped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 3 hours ago, PascalNJ said: Thanks. Ash-throated has never been reported in Belize on eBird, so I doubt this is this bird. I can keep it as Myiarchus sp., no problem. Out of curiosity, why are you excluding Dusky-capped? I have little experience with Myiarchus flycatchers, but using a field guide this bird is extremely drab compared to others. It’s undertail is white, eliminating many species. @DLecy, @Connor Cochrane@AlexHenry any thoughts? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Cochrane Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 I think it's Dusky-capped. The birds lack of any strong wing bars really only leaves Dusky-capped and Yucatan as options, and the real dark head should eliminate Yucatan. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 2 hours ago, Connor Cochrane said: I think it's Dusky-capped. The birds lack of any strong wing bars really only leaves Dusky-capped and Yucatan as options, and the real dark head should eliminate Yucatan. Ok. My impression was that the head wasn’t really dark at all. The bird just looks so drab! Maybe someday I’ll get some experience with something other that Great-crested 😆 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 11 hours ago, Connor Cochrane said: I think it's Dusky-capped. The birds lack of any strong wing bars really only leaves Dusky-capped and Yucatan as options, and the real dark head should eliminate Yucatan. Yes, that's what I think it is. Thanks for your help! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 8 hours ago, Avery said: Ok. My impression was that the head wasn’t really dark at all. The bird just looks so drab! Maybe someday I’ll get some experience with something other that Great-crested 😆 The drab look has a lot to do, I think, with the poor picture and that I had to push the exposure in processing it. Thanks for your help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I'd call that a Dusky-Capped if I saw it here, well out of range for Yucatan (which I've never seen), especially if I had confirmed more yellow on the underparts than is obvious in these photos. Dusky-Capped are much more drab than Great Crested on the upperparts (wings/back/tail). For what it's worth, Merlin says that local populations of Dusky-Capped are very hard to distinguish from Yucatan, and they are best differentiated by voice. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 4 hours ago, Aveschapines said: I'd call that a Dusky-Capped if I saw it here, well out of range for Yucatan (which I've never seen), especially if I had confirmed more yellow on the underparts than is obvious in these photos. Dusky-Capped are much more drab than Great Crested on the upperparts (wings/back/tail). For what it's worth, Merlin says that local populations of Dusky-Capped are very hard to distinguish from Yucatan, and they are best differentiated by voice. As I said above, the drab appearance has also to do with the poor quality of these pictures. Processed differently, the 3rd picture looks like this: And a few minutes before this picture, I took another one (different bird, I think): Thanks for your comment! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 43 minutes ago, PascalNJ said: As I said above, the drab appearance has also to do with the poor quality of these pictures. Processed differently, the 3rd picture looks like this: And a few minutes before this picture, I took another one (different bird, I think): Thanks for your comment! Yes, those look better, and I could see some yellow in the original photos too. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 33 minutes ago, Aveschapines said: Yes, those look better, and I could see some yellow in the original photos too. 😄 Ok, next time, let me know which color you want to see, and I'll push a few sliders in Lightroom 😁 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aveschapines Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 2 minutes ago, PascalNJ said: Ok, next time, let me know which color you want to see, and I'll push a few sliders in Lightroom 😁 Oh, cool! I like purple 😜 (Then you can make one of those Facebook memes about how gorgeous nature is with your purple flycatchers, green and yellow robins, and rainbow hummingbirds...) 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PascalNJ Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 22 hours ago, Aveschapines said: Oh, cool! I like purple 😜 (Then you can make one of those Facebook memes about how gorgeous nature is with your purple flycatchers, green and yellow robins, and rainbow hummingbirds...) Ok, I like purple too. I'll post a picture when I see a Purple flycatcher.😁 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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