Subject: How to tell Stewart and Bell apart
Date: May 9 11:40:59 1998
From: "Martin J. Muller" - martinmuller at email.msn.com


Fellow birders,

A few days ago someone on tweeters asked how he/she could tell the male
(Stewart) and female (Bell) peregrines nesting on the Washington Mutual
Tower in Seattle apart.

I didn't see an answer to that on tweeters (either I missed it, or perhaps a
private message was sent by someone?), so I figured I'd supply some hints.

First a different issue. Sometimes you will notice Bell with an e (Belle) or
without. The original thought behind the names for the nesting pair was to
name them after downtown Seattle street names. Hence Stewart and Bell. Some
people feel Bell is not feminine enough so an e is added (my argument: she
just laid four eggs, how much more feminine do you need?). The idea is to
reserve downtown street names for nesting birds only. If we use the names
for young also we would run out of names in no time. Just a bit of trivia.

Now, how to tell Stewart and Bell apart. First of all size. Stewart, sitting
sideways/diagonally in the nest bow, reaches just over halfway the distance.
Bell fills considerably more of the box. From behind, Bell looks more evenly
_gun metal blue_ on back and tail. Stewart has a much darker tail,
contrasting with his back (really mostly folded wings). In profile, the best
way to tell them apart are the auricular patches and malar stripes. Looking
at Bell, a considerable amount of white/cream extends up over the ear
region, making the straps or malar stripes stand out. The same auricular
area in Stewart is filled in with diffuse blue-gray, making his _hood_ more
solid, without the obvious malar stripes coming down.

Hope this helps,

Martin Muller, Seattle
MartinMuller at email.msn.com