Subject: [Tweeters] Another example video of an Eyebrowed Thrush
Date: Feb 15 08:36:06 2016
From: Houston Flores - houstonflores at hotmail.com


Tweets,

That last video link (sent by barnowl635) is to a male Eyebrowed Thrush. Here is a link to a video of some females, for comparison.

http://youtu.be/cGBX_AFkrT8

This species has fairly strong sexual dimorphism and it sounds to me like Mr. Tubb's bird is a female. Note the pale throat and malar stripe.

As a side note, I am following this undocumented rarity with some personal interest. Back in 2005, I too observed a rare bird (Brown Booby in Bellingham Bay) and was unable to document it. The sighting was vigorously questioned ("Are you sure it wasn't a Brown Pelican?) and it was a stressful experience defending my observation. It didn't help that a Brown Pelican was spotted near where I had my observation the next day! Luckily a Brown Booby was spotted and photographed in the San Juans a week later, which confirmed ( to me) my sighting. This event was the catalyst for me purchasing a video camera which I try to bring with me on all outings.

So I totally understand what Mr. Tubbs is going through and while I think it is important to question all undocumented observations (even documented ones for that matter) I think it is also important to remember to question with politeness and civility!

As a final note, for those who have not tried it - in a pinch, you can hold up your cell phone to your binoculars and (with practice) you can take a decent picture that may not be print worthy but it can at least aid in the identification of a bird!

Good migrations!

Houston Flores
Seattle
houstonflores AT hotmail