18 replies to this topic

[mamabirdof2]

I have no idea what this bird is and would love some help! Guess from tail to tip about a robin size. I thought it was a phainopepla until I looked at the photo's and notice the odd white-sh eye ring? Sorry not the best camera, hoping I got enough for an ID. Thanks so much for your help!

Mamabirdof2
 unknown bird may 12 2012 001.jpg   124.51K   160 downloads
 unknown bird may 12 2012 002.jpg   191.29K   233 downloads
 unknown bird may 12 2012 003.jpg   152.43K   275 downloads
 unknown bird may 12 2012 004.jpg   94.05K   215 downloads

[ColoTomo]

It looks quite a bit like juvenile Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to me. Not sure, the coloring is hard to tell. Did you consider that one ? Wait for others to respond

[creeker]

I agree, with that long tail, I think Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is the only choice here.

[BarnSwallow]

That's the conclusion I came to, too.

[birdbrain22]

Agree, with that tail no other options really.

[mamabirdof2]

I hadn't considered the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, I'm new to birding, married a man who has been birding a while and he introduced me to the call of the feather. It's just so dark could it be a high-breed of some sort? If it is a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that would be awesome given our AZ location! Thanks so much for all the help!!

[creeker]

They are known to wander quite a bit during migration. I saw one here in San Diego County in October of 2010.

[Kryptos18]

Why not a female Phainopepla? Their tails can seem pretty strongly forked if they spread them a little.

[spookyjimjams]

Why not a female Phainopepla? Their tails can seem pretty strongly forked if they spread them a little.

Yeah, but a Phainopepla's tail is not as long as this one. I think I see what got you thinking this though, the 3rd picture looks like the bird has a tiny crest.

[Liam]

Wouldn't a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher have a lighter mantle and head? This looks more like a Phainopepla than a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher to me.

[gbotello]

I would go with Phainopepla, too. The bill looks more like Phainopepla to me, as well.

While there have been a couple of sightings of Scissor-tail Flycatchers in Arizona (there was a famous one for a couple of summers in Campe Verde a few years ago. It may have mated with a Western Flycatcher. I managed to actually see that one).

it would be a very unusal sighting in Arizona.

[FarAwayEyes]

We have Scissor-tails down here in Texas all over the place and this bird is much darker and the tail is much thicker that the scissor tails here. I agree with Liam the Scissor-tail is much lighter on top and back area.

[psweet]

By chance, did you report this to the AZ list-serve as well?

[ColoTomo]

By chance, did you report this to the AZ list-serve as well?

Interesting post psweet -- does this mean you agree with Scissor-tailed Flycatcher?

The coloring is really the only issue here, which is why I mentioned it in my first post. However, I believe backlighting could account for the mismatch. Female Phainopepla is an interesting choice. I scoured the internet for any female Phainopepla photos, looking for a tail that even remotely mirrored this one, with total tail length and type of fork at the end..... and failed.

As for the range, we get them every once in a while around the middle to northern Colorado. The eBird range map is even more revealing. As Creeker stated, they're known to wander.

[psweet]

Actually, I'm not sure about Scissor-tailed -- I'm not really sure what this is, from these photos. I was asking because someone reported a possible Scissor-tailed in that area on the same day, and I was wondering if it was an independent report or the same one.

(I did wonder about the possibility of Gray Silky Flycatcher, based on the bit of a crest and the mention of a white eye-ring, but the photos definitely aren't good enough for that, and I think now that you should be able to see yellow on the belly in the last photo. )

[Kryptos18]

http://www.flickr.co...dia/5578353690/ Here's a shot that shows that with a little spreading, the tail can look pretty strongly forked.

[bigbadbird]

Yes, we reported this on the listserv. My wife took the picture and I tried to get a look at it visually. We saw a ton of Phainopeplas on the way up and down the mountain and I think it is highly unlikely that this was also one. The head structure didn't seem right, the tail seemed too long, the totality of the body and tail seemed too long, and the coloration seemed off. That being said I have no idea what it is. I have been birding for most of my life and all I know is that at a distance of about 30 yards, it was too hard for me to positively identify by eye sight.

[BigOly]

To me, the tail looks too long for Phainos. Here's a male and female Phainopepla for comparison.

[BarnSwallow]

Not very scientific, but I measured the bird-in-question's tail, and it is quite a bit longer in comparison than BigOly's pic of the female.