Corey 485 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Searching typical birds for the area, seems to be the only possibility. Merlin says zero matches. Photo from today in southern Nevada. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin 4,498 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) That's an American Robin. Edited December 20, 2019 by Kevin 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hbvol50 857 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 Definitely not a Hermit. I think Am. robin is right 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winter 29 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) To my eyes, this looks to be an American Pipit (immature or non-breeding) and not a Robin nor Hermit Thrush... Sorry to be the naysayer here! Edited December 21, 2019 by Winter Typos Quote Link to post Share on other sites
akandula 2,805 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) This is definitely an American Robin, with that thrush-shape, white eye arcs, yellow bill, and gray back with a black tail. You can even see a hint of the orange breast. It's probably a female/immature, which contributes to how lightly-colored it is. Edited December 21, 2019 by akandula 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Winter 29 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) You’re probably right... But I’ve a question — and please don’t think I’m trying to be rude or anything 😊 — when comparing some pictures in Nevada of American Pipits seen in December, they look so similar to the OPs picture! What am I missing? Is it the eyes? For example, here’s one of a bunch i copy/paste’d from this link https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/42670641 Also from the same site, there’s some Pipits with more rufous/reddish near the chest/shoulders as seen in the OP photo with the same yellow black-tipped bill, wing tips, eye swoosh, etc. I really hope you don’t think I’m being rude..! 😬 Just trying to figure this out as I’ve never seen a Robin this pale or gray before even in breeding plumage or immature/juvenile, but perhaps in the arid regions of the US this isn’t uncommon... OK, now I’m going to go run and hide out of embarrassment ☺️ 🥴😆 42 minutes ago, akandula said: This is definitely an American Robin, with that thrush-shape, white eye arcs, yellow bill, and gray back with a black tail. You can even see a hint of the orange breast. It's probably a female/immature, which contributes to how lightly-colored it is. Edited December 21, 2019 by Winter Edta Quote Link to post Share on other sites
akandula 2,805 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 You’re not being rude at all, @Winter! Your question is actually very good. The original bird is an American Robin for the following reasons: It has a thrush-like shape: Pipits are more slender than thrushes, with much broader primary feathers (creating a triangle-like point on the folded-wing, not a many-feathered “trapezoid” as on a thrush). Also, pipits have more slender beaks. It has a Robin-like facial pattern: Note the broad broken eye-arcs on the robin, not a thin complete eyering as on a pipit. The American Robin also lacks the pale throat wrapping around the auriculars. It has a robin-like overall color: Pipits have a brown wash overall, while robins a more gray. Hope that helped you differentiate the two! 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Leukering 3,374 Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 American Pipits -- in fact, all pipits -- have little or no primary projection; the bird in question has very long primary projection. See https://cobirds.org/CFO/ColoradoBirds/InTheScope/28.pdf 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nivalis 197 Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 I believe it to be a robin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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.