dragon49 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 If not, I'm clueless. Taken this morning in Loxahatchee, Florida: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Looks like a female Red-winged Blackbird. That beak shape is wrong for a swallow species. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peromyscus Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 (edited) It's a Brown-headed Cowbird female. Edited January 28 by Peromyscus not enough sleep or coffee 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor Cochrane Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 (edited) Why’s it not Cowbird? Doesn’t look streaky at all. Dull brownish color and location seem to be better for that as well. Edited January 28 by Connor Cochrane 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon49 Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 1 minute ago, Peromyscus said: It's a Brown-headed Cowbird female. Cool - I already took credit for the lifer, as I saw the bird through a scope, and a good birder told me what it was. At least I have a photo - I didn't want to add another non-photo lifer to my list. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiscalus quiscula Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 2 minutes ago, Connor Cochrane said: Why’s it not Cowbird? Doesn’t look streaky at all. Dull brownish color and location seem to be better for that as well. That was my initial reaction, but I'd never seen that strong of an eyebrow on one before. Another stupid mistake to add to my list. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake Fingers Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 41 minutes ago, Quiscalus quiscula said: Another stupid mistake to add to my list. You’re not alone there… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Why isn’t this a Shiny Cowbird? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, blackburnian said: Why isn’t this a Shiny Cowbird? For me it’s range and the whitish throat in the first photo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 34 minutes ago, IKLland said: For me it’s range and the whitish throat in the first photo. Range isn’t an issue. Loxahatchee isn’t far from Semi-Chi Rice Mill, where they are reliable. Note the slim bill, pale supercilium, and overall slender structure. A whitish throat isn’t unusual for a Shiny. For reference this was taken at Semi-Chi a few days ago. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/527051221 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IKLland Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 @DLecy, thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLecy Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I don’t have experience with Shiny Cowbird, but I don’t really see how one could be ruled out based on these pics. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 @dragon49 where was this exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon49 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 28 minutes ago, blackburnian said: @dragon49 where was this exactly? This was at the Semi-Chi Rice Mill. I now know with 100% certainty that it is either a Brown-headed Cowbird or a Shiny Cowbird. At the time, I was with a bunch of very experience birders, and they all saw both species in the same structure, but I only saw and photographed one. I do remember one of them told me that the Brown-headed Cowbird was female. I don't remember any discussion about the sex of the other. I don't have contact info for any of the other parties, but I can get it. If any of them tell me that the Shiny Cowbird was male, then I'm going to consider this a Brown-headed Cowbird. In any event, I reached out to one of our reviewers and am awaiting his answer. I'll pass it on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) Given the location and aforementioned field marks, I would call this a Shiny. Edited January 29 by blackburnian 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon49 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 11 minutes ago, blackburnian said: Given the location and aforementioned field marks, I would call this a Shiny. I'm still waiting to hear from the reviewer, but I'm sticking to Brown-headed Cowbird for now. I found the checklist for one of the other birders, and they posted a picture of a male (all black) Shiny Cowbird, and since one of them mentioned the Brown-headed Blackbird was female, this is probably it. The flaw in the logic is that maybe this was a second (female) Shiny Cowbird that only I saw. The problem with that argument is that these folks are all much better birders than I, and they had a scope on the same area I was looking at, so, It's a weak argument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackburnian Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) 18 minutes ago, dragon49 said: I'm still waiting to hear from the reviewer, but I'm sticking to Brown-headed Cowbird for now. I found the checklist for one of the other birders, and they posted a picture of a male (all black) Shiny Cowbird, and since one of them mentioned the Brown-headed Blackbird was female, this is probably it. The flaw in the logic is that maybe this was a second (female) Shiny Cowbird that only I saw. The problem with that argument is that these folks are all much better birders than I, and they had a scope on the same area I was looking at, so, It's a weak argument. Generally speaking, it think it’s wiser to focus on the actual field marks rather than basing your ID on comments made in the field. I’m not saying those people are wrong, just that it’s better to judge the photos you got on their own merits. Edited January 29 by blackburnian 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragon49 Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 The reviewer got back to me and said the bird in question was a female Brown-headed Cowbird. He didn't explain his reasoning, so I have nothing else to add. I appreciate all of the replies. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birds are cool Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Really doesn't look like a BHCO to me. I see them a lot, and it looks wrong. I have no experience with Shiny Cowbird, but I would sooner call it shiny than brown-headed. I am not saying your reviewer is wrong, just throwing my opinion out there. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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