Thanks for the reminder Shai, Here is a link to a PDF of the article that Joe referenced.
https://biology.unm.edu/Witt/pub_files/Baumann-etal-2014-JFO-yellow-Empid-ID-jofo12078.pdf good birding, Anders Peltomaa Manhattan On Fri, Dec 9, 2016 at 9:12 AM, Shaibal Mitra <[email protected]> wrote: > In a really nice example of how this list serves as institutional memory > for our community, Dave Klauber just reminded me of this very relevant post > from Joe DiCostanzo, from December 2014. It details the foundation of the > wing pattern feature mentioned in the Whatbird discussions, and I would > agree that this feature also favors Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. > > It's not fun to admit this, but the things I learn nowadays don't stick > with me to nearly the same degree as the things I learned before, say 2000! > So n.b. to those whose brains are still limber: don't put off learning > until later, front-load the data hoarding as much as possible! > ________________________________ > From: [email protected] <bounce-118614530-3714613@ > list.cornell.edu> on behalf of Joe DiCostanzo <[email protected]> > Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2014 7:24 PM > To: NYSBirds > Subject: [nysbirds-l] New Empidonax identification tip > > > Just got the current issue of the Journal of Field Ornithology (vol. 85, > no. 4, December 2014). I figure this is not a journal that most birders > check for ID articles so I thought I would draw attention to an article in > it: “Simple technique for distinguishing Yellow-bellied Flycatchers from > Cordilleran and Pacific-slope flycatchers by M. J. Baumann, S. C. Galen, N. > D. Pederson and C. C. Witt. Pp. 391-396. Anyone interested should read the > article for all the details, many of which involve measurements that can > only be done in the hand, but there is one character that can be used to > distinguish Yellow-bellied Flycatcher from “Western Flycatcher” (the > complex composed of Cordilleran and Pacific-slope flys.). It involves the > space on the folded wing between the lower wing bar and the start of the > pale fringes on the secondaries. This space is much larger in the > Yellow-bellied than in the “Western”. I pulled out a few field guides from > my bookshelf to see if it was distinguishable in published illustrations. I > found it was apparent in the photos in Kenn Kaufman’s Birds of North > America (at least in the first edition that I have). It was also obvious in > Dave Sibley’s paintings of these species in his Second Edition of the > Sibley Guide to Birds (I didn’t check the first edition). The authors of > the Journal of Field Ornithology article tested their technique on 113 > museum specimens that had been identified based on locality. They found > their technique correctly place 112 of the specimens. One specimen labeled > as a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher that had been collected in Illinois was > identified as a “Western Flycatcher” by their technique. Amazingly, when > the mtDNA of this specimen was examined, the specimen proved to be a > “Western Flycatcher”, the first for the complex for Illinois! > > > > Distinguishing a Yellow-bellied Fly from a “Western Fly” has not come up > yet in New York, but hey, you never know. > > > > Joe DiCostanzo > > www.greatgullisland.org<http://www.greatgullisland.org/> > > www.inwoodbirder.blogspot.com<http://www.inwoodbirder.blogspot.com> > > [http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zlSALCVoYnM/U0SFqj6uWfI/ > AAAAAAAAAWQ/xYjr3pf15r0/s80/Joe.jpg]<http://www.inwoodbirder.blogspot.com/ > > > > Inwood Birder<http://www.inwoodbirder.blogspot.com/> > www.inwoodbirder.blogspot.com > A very pretty morning in the Ramble for my Thursday morning AMNH bird walk > group. It would have been an even prettier morning if there had been more > birds around! > > > > > > -- > NYSbirds-L List Info: > Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME> > Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES> > Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/ > NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> > Archives: > The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@ > cornell.edu/maillist.html> > Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L> > BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html> > Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! > -- > > -- > > NYSbirds-L List Info: > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES > http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm > > ARCHIVES: > 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html > 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L > 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html > > Please submit your observations to eBird: > http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ > > -- > > -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
