Hi all I'll just add to the discussion what I heard (quite a few times on various trips) while at Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival (November), lots of expert leaders stressing "you cannot ID Tropical or Couch Kingbirds by photo, can only do by call ... best to call the bird Tropical/Couch Kingbird." ... :-)
Thanks Gary Lefko, Nunn http://www.friendsofthepawneegrassland.org/ On Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 11:16:21 PM UTC-7, Ben S wrote: > > Hi all - > First I would like to apologize for not reporting my suspicions about this > bird at the time. When I first saw it, I assumed it was a Western Kingbird. > Then, even though I reported it as "yellow-bellied kingbird sp." on ebird, > I convinced myself I was imagining its Tropical/Couch's Kingbird features. > It was seen on April 30, 2019 at Cherry Creek SP, at west shades. Western > Kingbirds were just returning at that time. However, several birders whose > judgement I trust very much have pointed to Tropical or Couch's Kingbird as > a strong possibility, or some hybrid. This bird is clearly not a Western > Kingbird. First, the belly is very bright yellow, second the throat is > white, the back is very green, the tail is dark with a light tip (not white > edges), brownish wings with light edges as well as long primaries, and a > largish bill. However, the tail is fairly thin and dark, not lighter and > deeply forked as would typically be expected from Couch's Kingbird or > Tropical. Also, the bill seems larger than a Western, but I don't think it > is quite as big as in a Tropical or Couch's Kingbird. In essence, the tail > is like a Cassin's Kingbird, however, the rest of the bird clearly is not. > It may be easier to view and zoom in on photos on my ebird checklist: > https://ebird.org/checklist/S55598986 > Again, since this bird is potentially very rare I apologize for the long > period of time since the bird was seen. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks > > [image: IMG_9507 - Edited (2).jpg] > > [image: IMG_9504 - Edited (1).jpg] > > [image: IMG_9503 - Edited (1).jpg] > > [image: IMG_9506 - Edited (2).jpg] > > [image: IMG_9505 - Edited (2).jpg] > > > Ben Sampson > > Centennial, CO > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1eef15da-bdfc-45bf-a13d-0b1f172cbccf%40googlegroups.com.
