>On Dec. 30, Dennis Paulson responded to the thread on gulls and starfish and
>remarked on a missed ID -
>
>>
>>I recall another misidentified bird in Terres, the "bristle-thighed curlew"
>>that's actually a whimbrel.
>>
>>Dennis Paulson phone: (206)
>>756-3798
>>Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
>>University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
>
>
>Dennis, a Bristle-thighed Curlew is high on my wish list for Alaska birds. How
>do you tell,
>without seeing the rump, that the bird in the picture in question is a
>Whimbrel rather
>than the curlew?
>
>
>
>>Tacoma, WA 98416
>>
>>
>>
>
>Chris Maack
>Bird Treatment & Learning Center
>btlc at name1.ak.net
>Box 230496, Anchorage, AK 99523
>907-278-4265

Chris, the bird in the photo (p. 791) is an adult Whimbrel, easily
distinguished by its very plain brown and not very brightly patterned
coverts and tertials. Bristle-thighed adults and juveniles are much more
brightly marked above, with contrastingly patterned coverts and tertials,
more like the juvenile Whimbrel on p. 804. A good characteristic is the
heavily barred sides of the adult Whimbrel; Bristle-thighed Curlews show
very little barring on the sides and none on the undertail coverts. In
such a close photo, it would be obvious that the sides were washed with
buff and the plainly visible pale bars on the tail would be paler, also
with some buff. Finally, in a bird that close, you could see the
bristle-like feathers on the thighs in a Bristle-thighed!

By the way, there's a book called Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest that
includes this information and much more!

The Bristle-thighed Curlew is *very* high on my wish list, #1 in fact. I
wasn't able to find one in Nome last summer, although I spent parts of 2
days looking for them. I may just have to make a great sacrifice and travel
to the South Pacific to see this species. You are very unlikely to see one
in Anchorage; even in Alaska, they are rarely seen except in their breeding
areas and at the Yukon/Kuskokwim delta in migration.

Dennis Paulson phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416