Hey, all. Thanks for the gray flycatcher discussion. Always fun to learn cool new stuff. Here's a video of a gray flycatcher that I made in May 2019:
https://twitter.com/BirdingMagazine/status/1126302315995062272 The tail-dipping behavior is, in my experience, a good field mark for the gray flycatcher: down-up, fluid and phoebe-like, with the tail at and below the plane of the body for the duration of the stereotyped behavior. Other supporting behavioral marks for migrant gray flycatchers, in my experience, include: foraging quite close to, and sometimes on, the ground; proximity to standing water; high level of activity overall. Agree with folks on all morphological field marks. This is a largish and lanky empid; distinctively long-billed and thin-billed, and relatively long-tailed; small-headed and round-headed; and gray overall, with low-contrast plumage and pale lores. No gray flycatchers this evening, Tues., Apr. 28, at the Greenlee/Waneka/Hecla ecological complex, eastern Boulder County, but nice to see a *Brewer sparrow, *an* orange-crowned warbler,* and an *eastern bluebird.* Ted Floyd Lafayette, Boulder County On Sunday, April 26, 2020 at 6:22:30 PM UTC-6, Norm Erthal wrote: > > I have seen several posts on Ebird for gray flycatcher. The ones with > photos are not convincing for gray flycatcher. The id seems to be based on > downward tail flicking. This may be the worst field mark for empids, They > all flick their tails down. About the only thing that can be said with > certainty is if they flick their tails up, they are probably not gray. > > Norm Erthal > Arvada > -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/76323877-f82d-4ff6-8d60-2debaf78af59%40googlegroups.com.
