Re: Bicknell's ID (long)

GREGORY.B.MILLER@bge.com
Fri, 25 Sep 1998 10:48:04 -0400 

Howdy all!

     Mike, ID doesn't get too much more difficult (some well
known empid questions come to mind).  Gail, thanks for your post.
 I can only add to the confusion on this topic, instead of
clarifying the finer ID points.

     Gail is correct on warmer tones of brown and higher
elevation (3500 ft and above).  The bill is *supposed* to be
"orange"--whatever that means.  I have never seen a bill on a
Gray-cheeked/Bicknell's that had what I would deem an orange
lower mandible.  If you look at the article in Birding on the
separation of these two species, you'll note that the text and
the pictures do not necessarily correspond (aargh).

     I have seen thrushes of this complex with lower mandible
colorartions varying from straw-yellow (May 97-Crane Creek, OH)
to dingier, fleshy tones (most I've seen are this color).  The
birds I saw at the 4000 ft level on Mt Washington this summer
left me more quizzical than ever.  I think you'll recall my post
that these birds had bright, flesh-colored lower mandibles.  The
color was as if a bit of sunshine actually came through (so
bright it gave the illusion of translucency).  It was a warmer,
cleaner tone of flesh color (maybe a hint of an orangish hue on
an otherwise flesh-colored bill).  The color was slightly more
extensive, too, covering maybe 2/3 of the lower mandible and the
tip cleanly dark-tipped.  Other thrushes I've seen only cover
about 1/2 (caution--this is my experience only).  Additionally,
these birds were responding to Bicknell's tape songs & calls.
Anyone else know of Gray-cheeked responding to Bicknell's tapes?

     Now.  That said, these birds were silent.  Even though I was
told by reliable birders that Gray-cheeked would not occur at
this time (late July) at that elevation in the mountains of New
Hampshire, I can't help thinking I couldn't tell for sure.
Warmer tones on forehead, shoulder, primaries, and tail were
evident.  The lower mandible was a bright flesh tone.  I'm glad I
was patient and waited to hear one call (unfortunately, I never
*saw* the one that called, so I can't describe the finer features
(provided there really are any).  Aargh again.  What a quagmire
of difficulty!

     Besides, I have actually seen Gray-cheeked/Bicknell's with
warmer tones and similar bill color here in Calvert County (but
not calling, so nothing definite) that looked like these birds.
But what was I seeing here on Mt Washington?  Unfortunately, I'll
never know for certain.  They were silent.  Most birders would
probably have called them Bicknell's I think.  I was not about to
write up documentation and submit a rare bird report of
Gray-cheeked either <grin>.  Not on sight alone.  Thrush sp.

     The song and call of the Bicknell's Thrush, however, are
fortunately fairly distinctive.  The sounds of both Bicknell's
and Gray-cheeked can be listened to on the _More Birding By Ear_
tapes.  The song is thinner and more wiry (like listening to
music on AM instead of FM radio--maybe a poor likeness, but it's
what I thought about when I first heard it).  The call is a nasal
Veee-ah, more reminiscent of a Veery's call.

Adding to the muddle,

Greg Miller
Lusby, MD