One of the things I love about bird photography is that when I look back at the old photos every detail comes back: the place, the weather, the smells, even what I was thinking at the time.
This photo reminded me how confusing birding was when I was first getting started. Taken at Bosque del Apache after I had only been birding for a few months. I had just been trying to shoot a male Ring-necked Pheasant. That was a bird even I could identify.
http://www.whatbird.com/forums/photos/nieblas_gallery/category1040/picture27489.aspx
Then I went around the corner and saw this other large brown bird perching in a tree.
http://www.whatbird.com/forums/photos/nieblas_gallery/category1040/picture51671.aspx
I sat there for a long while scratching my head and trying to figure out what this big chicken-like bird could be. Some kind of...prarie chicken or something? Couldn't find it in my field guide. What species could it be?
I swear it wasn't until I got home that it dawned on me that it had to be the female pheasant.
Chris from Denver
