Caleb, thanks for your detailed and thoughtful response. I just wish I had been able to get a more diagnostic photo! Robin
On Thursday, May 14, 2020 at 9:54:23 AM UTC-6, Caleb A wrote: > > Hello! > Your photo is very intriguing and provided me with almost 20 minutes of > thinking. Both Plumbeous and Cassin's share a lot of field marks, so my > conclusion is the result of studying the differences. > I believe your bird is a Plumbeous Vireo, and here's why: > 1) although the photo only shows a little bit of it, the edges on the > secondaries are gray. Cassin's would be greenish, or at least tinted in > some color other than gray. > 2) the tail is pretty short, and I realize that this is a relative > measurement, but after considering both the camera angle and bird's > posture, the tail's length leaned toward Plumbeous to me. > 3) it's important to note that Plumbeous can have faint yellow wash on the > flanks. However, after reviewing the photography aspects (lighting, > surroundings, etc.) I concluded that the yellowish coloration on the > undersides of the bird are the result of the bright sun reflecting off the > nearby, young leaves. That would also explain how the yellowish tint on the > photo seems to be almost uniformly spread out on the entire underside of > the bird. > It should be known that I'm no expert on Vireos, and am still enjoying > learning this fun family of birds too, so take this with a grain of salt! > > The birds are happy, and so am I > ~Caleb Alons, Larimer County > -- 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/dec9d8d7-0458-4df3-ae21-9a4a12ba34c5%40googlegroups.com.
