Subject: [Tweeters] Re: Photo help needed
Date: Jun 11 20:55:37 2009
From: Charlie Wright - c.wright7 at comcast.net


Hello All,
My first thought on Deb's flycatcher was the same as Dennis', that this looks a lot like an Eastern Phoebe. However, on closer inspection, I'm pretty sure it is a Willow Flycatcher.

The lighting is pretty awful here, so that has to be kept in mind with every feature. The face pattern is what really threw me off, but there is definitely a shadow over the face so this is really hard to evaluate. There does appear to be a pale loral patch like many Empidonax.

Given the backlighting and lack of contrast, one must compare the wingbars with the tertial edges to get a feel for how prominent they are. Here, the (two) wingbars are more prominent than the tertial edges, where the opposite would likely be true on a phoebe. Also, even in this lighting, the upperparts are greener than I've ever seen on Eastern Phoebe. The throat is not obviously white and the back is green instead of dark like the cap.

Re: Dave Larson's bird, it appears to be an Olive-sided Flycatcher with a hefty body shape, large bill, gray tones, streaky vest, and very long wing extension.

Re: The Indigo Bunting at Snoqualmie, I think it is an SY bird (hatched last summer). I was first thinking it was an older bird from a distant scope view, but on my way out I had better views and saw brown edges to several tertials and an apparent molt limit in the secondaries.

Cheers,
Charlie Wright
Bonney Lake, Washington