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Posted by Toe on 00:55:02 12/25/05
In Reply to: Re: Ash-throated Flycatcher posted by Bill Pranty
We were able to narrow it down to two possibilities: Ash-throated and Brown-crested. When I first saw the bird, the paleness of the yellow and the lack of a demarcation between the yellow belly and light gray chest made me lean towards Ash-throated, which is why Trey posted it as such. You're right, in the photos the dark undertail tips don't show well, so hopefully Trey or someone else can relocate the bird and get better shots. One other factor is the call. We heard it before we ever saw the bird, and it was really interesting. I've heard plenty of Great-cresteds, and last winter saw and heard 5 Brown-cresteds, and I can say this call was not a Brown-crested. But again, these birds give multiple calls and it's possible what we heard calling was not this particular bird. At one point, we had this bird working it's way along the opposite bank while a Great-crested was working in the opposite direction and they crossed paths! What a nice shot that would have made. Either way, both Ash-throated and Brown-crested are both good birds for S. FL. I'd just like to get a positive ID before I say for sure. By the way, not having an updated field guide hurt me today. My old edition that I carried did not show the tail features for identification, and I forgot about this since the last (and only) time I saw Ash-throated was in Arizona in 2003. If I'd remembered to look for this, we would not be having this debate. But, these debates are what make birding fun and educational. Thanks so much, we'll keep you posted.
Toe
P.S. Sibley's is the #1 item on my Santa list.
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