Saturday, April 17, 2010

Bushtit

I had a hard time identifying this bird. It looked familiar, but I couldn't find it in my field guide. Finally after seaching through Cornell's All About birds site, I realized it was a Bushtit. The reason I was confused is that the previous Bushtit I posted had a pale eye and this one had a dark eye. The picture of the Bushtit in my field guide had a pale eye. What I discovered is that the female has a pale eye while the male has a dark eye. Cornell's site says that female's eye turns pale within a month of fledging, while Wikipedia just says the female's eye is pale. I trust Cornell over Wikipedia. So, it's possible this is a young female, but I am betting it is a male.
These pictures are the result of luck and patience. Bushtits are almost constantly on the move. This one was a little calmer than some I've seen. I spotted it a fair distance from me and waited patiently while it got closer and closer. Towards the end it got quite close and remained still long enough, fairly unobstructed, so I could get some nice shots.

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