Its a bushtit and possibly a *melanotis/dimorphicus *subspecies, formerly considered its own species, Black-eared Bushtit. They are found further south in NM/TX and Mexico. Males of this group show the full black mask, although some black mask can sometimes show up in juv males of our resident subspecies *plumbeous*. I'm not sure if that's a possibility with this one as it seems fully black in the auricular. There seem to be more of these 'black-eared' ones showing up, including apparent females, and it may not be indicative of subspecies at all. Taxonomy.... Any photos showing the eye?
Colin Woolley Wheat Ridge On Sunday, July 30, 2023 at 1:00:56 PM UTC-6 Paula Hansley wrote: > CObirders-- > I was taking a picture of what I thought was a Black-capped Chickadee in > Coyote Run Open Space in Louisville yesterday, but this bird does not look > like a chickadee to me! > > Any thoughts? > > Paula Hansley > Boulder County > -- > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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/418cf444-0ab8-45a3-a6de-99d94eaada6fn%40googlegroups.com.
