last update for today

[lebongirl]

There are birds nesting on my front porch. Yes, I know I have mentioned this before but I haven't said much about it lately because I was afraid this nest wouldn't be successful.

Their first nest was destroyed by my neighbor's friggin' cat. There are

Comments

[thagirion]

Oh man. I hope I'm not wrong. I don't want you to think I really screwed up because I pride myself on really knowing my birds. There's a whole inch difference between Says Pheobe and Ash Throat. Tonight I'll scan the info out of one of my field guides for both. Say's is about 7 1/2 inches while Ash is 8 1/2. A slightly bigger bird.

[lebongirl]

no, I don't think you "really screwed up." After this lady mentioned the Say's Phoebes, I did some research and dammit...it's SO friggin hard to tell what these little buggers are! I looked at my pics against pics of the ash-throated flycatchers & against the say's phoebes & I see similarities to both

[lebongirl]

also forgot to mention...besides...all you've seen is pics of the birds & I can imagine that identifying a bird can be difficult unless you can see it in person.

[thagirion]

Well bird calls are really good ways to tell birds apart. The yellow and buff tummy is what made me think it was a flycatcher but now that I look at the pic again and compare it with my field guides the dark wings make me think it's a pheobe. But then again it looks like it has a slight crest like a flycatcher. Yes it is a rather hairy situation. If you can get the calls for the two birds that is the best way to tell them apart.
Ash throated fly catcher - "Call heard year round is a rough prrrt. Song heard on breeding grounds is a series of blurry ka-brick's.

Say's Phoebe - "Call is a thin, plaintive, whistled pee ee. Song is a fast pit-tse-ar often given in fluttering flight."

Well at least they sound very different. And yes you're right. It is easier to see them in person.