Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 14:42:14 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Marshall Iliff Subject: Ft. McHenry flycatcher - Ash-throated?? Comments: cc: lehman.paul@verizon.net, georgearmistead@hotmail.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Birders, I am always loathe to suggest that a bird may have been mis-identified, but the odds tend to be with me when it comes to _Myiarchus_ flycatchers. Any time after late October ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER is _vastly_ more likely than Great Crested Flycatcher. If I am wrong I apologize to Jim and the other observers involved, but I strongly encourage that this bird be looked at closely and PHOTOGRAPHED, regardless of which species it is. A late Great Crested would actually be more in need of photo documentation than an Ash-throated. In New Jersey for example, there is ONE late record of Great-crested Flycatcher in Cape May, but about 20 records of Ash-throated from late Oct-early Jan. Similar statistics can be found in most eastern states, and I know of only 4-5 confirmed records of late Great Cresteds vs. about 100 of Ash-throated. Both of Maryland's most recent records of Ash-throated Flycatcher were initially identied as Great Crested and only confirmed when observers returned to check on them -- the first near Assateague in Nov 2000 and the second at in Kent County in Dec 2001. A check of the "Yellow Book" would steer observers towards Ash-throated as a possibility, and this is what that small field list was meant for - that fied list shows a Great Crested record for 18 Nov (the only one after late October) but five records of Ash-throated clustered from 22 Nov-3 Jan. Identification of these two species is not easy, especially if you don't know Ash-throated well. The best characteristic is the call - winter Ash-throateds give persistent "pip" or "prrp" notes, which could recall the "chuck" of a Hermit Thrush. Great Crested has no such call. The breast of Ash-throated is pale gray whereas is is rich, dark gray in Great Crested. The belly of Great Crested is rich, deep yellow but pale yellow in Ash-throated. The result is that Great Crested has a sharp line of division between the breast and belly and Ash-throated blends smoothly from gray to yellow. Ash-throated also has a small bill with only a very tiny patch of pale color at the base; Great Crested by contrast has an extensive pale base to the thick bill. Confirmation of Ash-throated is assisted by close looks at the pattern of rufous on the undertail. Great Crested has bright rufous tail feathers that have very little dark on the inner web, while Ash-throated has a dark inner web that expands across the tip of the feather. Brown-crested, Dusky-capped, and Nutting's flycatchers have not yet been confirmed anywhere in the East (Brown-crested has occurred in LA and FL), but should be considered as awell. Refer to Sibley, or better yet, Pyle's banding manual (1997) for identification (call will help). I strongly encourage birders to get back out to Ft. McHenry (this evening or tomorrow morning) to check out that _Myiarchus_ and confirm its identity with notes and photos. I'll bet anyone 10:1 that it is an Ash-throated, and will hope that Jim will accept my sincerest apologies if I am wrong. Best, Marshall Iliff P.S. Even here in California, Ash-throated and Dusky-capped are more likely than Great Crested on this date...I should go out now and see if I can find one! Jim called to ask me post the Great-crested Flycatcher found during the First Wednesday Walk at Fort McHenry. The flycatcher managed to find some grasshoppers to feed on out on the nature trail. Birders also enjoyed Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, Greater Scaup, Gadwall, American Wigeon and Norther Shovelers. *********************** Marshall Iliff miliff@aol.com Costa Mesa, CA ************************ ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================