crm211b Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Hi, Is this guy, seen near Cancun, a Boat-billed Flycatcher or a Great Kiskadee? DSCN7858.jpg by Darryl Ryan, on Flickr Thanks, Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghann Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I *think* it's a Kiskadee. I think I see rufous edging to the wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 This is intriguing. I think I "need" to buy some field guides for other countries one of these days. I just did a little searching on either as my daughter saw the picture and was confused. The markings on the head don't look right for great kiskadee... Never heard of the boat-billed flycatcher so I looked it up. Their bill is much larger than what I'm seeing in this picture. I looked at all about birds as well as the macaulay library to see pictures of the great kiskadee to see if maybe their young might look different or something. Found no information on it so far and no pictures to support that idea, so far. I'm going to keep searching, starting with wikipedia's list of birds of mexico... ha. I'm not sure the rufous edging would mean a lot. (hmmm, why does firefox think rufous is spelled wrong?) The pattern on the boat-billed is similar, but again, their bill should be bigger from what I looked at. Love mysteries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crm211b Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Thanks for your inputs. This guy is a bit confusing to me. I am not an expert (which is why I am asking you guys ?) . I had wondered about the rufous on the wings. Looking online, some pics of Boat-billed Flycatchers do seem to contain a bit of rufous on the wings but, yes, this guy seems to have a lot. I wasn't comfortable with Great Kiskadee, though, because to me, the beak seems to be too fat and is the wrong shape (it seems to have a slight, downward bend to it). A Great Kiskadee should have a brownish body with black on the head and the white stripe should go downwards towards the nape, not upwards towards the top of the head. Everything about the head looks wrong to me for a Great Kiskadee. So...is it something completely different? I can't, on the spur of the moment, think of another alternative. I appreciate any ideas you may have. Thanks! Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crm211b Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Actually, to throw another option out there, I had originally considered White-ringed Flycatcher except it seems a bit out of range (I understand that White-ringed would typically be found a bit farther south). Here's another picture of the same bird at a slightly different angle. You can see that the white on the head goes all the way around to the back of the head, making a ring. Also, White-ringed are drab brown in colour with very black cheeks, just like this guy. Here's my pic. DSCN7855.jpg by Darryl Ryan, on Flickr Here's another pic I found on the web of a White-ringed Flycatcher. Actually, they look pretty similar to me... https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjk87nU8LbgAhUHo4MKHQqsD0cQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrawdecal.smugmug.com%2FBirds%2FTYRANNIDAE%2Fi-hrfq5gH&psig=AOvVaw33xNEFDBFLmKRsHxxA1nLI&ust=1550084008200074 Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millipede Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 yeah, while I was searching I was astounded by the number of species that look similar... many of them further south though. And most of them having smaller bills than either the great kiskadee or the boat-billed flycatcher. My daughter saw what I was looking at and she was frustrated too. She said one of the reasons she like the kiskadee so much was because how unique it is. Well, I guess not. HA. For Mexico, here are the three that are likely to be found... In my opinion, only the great kiskadee's bill matches, at least in terms of size. But, do wait for more experienced birders to weigh in... I'f simply found no photos of any of the likely (or unlikely) species that quite match this bird. Great kiskadeeBoat-billed flycatcherSocial flycatcher when you look down further to South America there are more options but none of them looked quite right to me either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meghann Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 The more I look through pictures the more confused I get. Primary length on the wings seems to favor boat-billed more. I really have no idea. And I found this shot from someone's field guide showing left to right Boat-billed, Kiskadee, then Social. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdbrain22 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 3 hours ago, crm211b said: Actually, to throw another option out there, I had originally considered White-ringed Flycatcher except it seems a bit out of range (I understand that White-ringed would typically be found a bit farther south). Here's another picture of the same bird at a slightly different angle. You can see that the white on the head goes all the way around to the back of the head, making a ring. Also, White-ringed are drab brown in colour with very black cheeks, just like this guy. Here's my pic. DSCN7855.jpg by Darryl Ryan, on Flickr Here's another pic I found on the web of a White-ringed Flycatcher. Actually, they look pretty similar to me... https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjk87nU8LbgAhUHo4MKHQqsD0cQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdrawdecal.smugmug.com%2FBirds%2FTYRANNIDAE%2Fi-hrfq5gH&psig=AOvVaw33xNEFDBFLmKRsHxxA1nLI&ust=1550084008200074 Darryl I think the OPs bird is actually a Boat-billed FC as well as the bird in the link in the quote above... the linked bird is definitely not a White-ringed IMO. White-Ringeds are much smaller in general and bill size than both the others. I would think a G. Kiskadee would show much more obvious rufous on the wings. I think the bill looks fine for Boat -billed and too large for Kiskadee IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdbrain22 Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 I HATE the fact one can not edit a post within only a few minutes of posting it!!!! I wanted to add... As size is hard to get a true reading on in a pic... a White-ringed is the size of a House Finch and the Boat-billed FC and G Kiskadee are Meadowlark size... if you are familiar with those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crm211b Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Thanks, everyone! This bird was definitely larger than a House Finch. Meadowlark size would be closer. I appreciate all the inputs and have enjoyed the discussion! Darryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alta Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I just read this. I looked in my guide for Costa Rica. The Boat-billed Flycatcher's "broad white superciliaries do not quite meet on the nape.) You can see that also in the pic of the guide. I also thought angle of bill made it look thicker. There I never relied that much on rufous due to light etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egosnell2002 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 I don't know, personally, I can't see this as a Boat-billed. I've seen plenty of Kiskadees that when it flies up you think the bill is huge, but it's really not when compared to boat-billed. It is called boat-billed flycatcher for a reason. Kiskadee seems fine to me here. I might look back in a few hours and see if my mind has changed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egosnell2002 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Meh, I'm going back. Boat-billed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crm211b Posted February 13, 2019 Author Share Posted February 13, 2019 ? It's a tricky one, isn't it? I've been looking at more pictures I took around the same time of for-sure Kiskadees. The more I look at them, the more I'm convinced this guy is not one of them. The rufous on the wings is much more evident in the Kiskadees and the beak is much straighter. Also, the black band on the eyes is blacker and goes back farther. This guy looks too dull brown, to me, for a Kiskadee. Interesting bird, though. Darryl 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewald Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 I am reacting to the first photo, it's a Boat billed (Güis picudo). Kiskadee has a staight culmen, Boat-billed has a decurved culmen and limited rufous on primaries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Dewald said: I am reacting to the first photo, it's a Boat billed (Güis picudo). Kiskadee has a staight culmen, Boat-billed has a decurved culmen and limited rufous on primaries Welcome to Whatbird! I can't comment on the flycatcher, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalarope713 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Agreed with Boat-billed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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