Friday, October 8, 2010

Say's Phoebe

Whenever I see a bird with Flycatcher characteristics my first reaction is a bit of a groan. Not in seeing the bird, but in the difficulty I'm guessing I'm going to have in trying to identify it. Not that I don't enjoy the challenge, it's just that there is so little difference between some of them that many I have photographed have gone unidentified.
It came as a pleasant surprise then when I got a good look at at the images on my computer. The rusty underbelly was not typical of the Flycatchers I have seen and gave me hope that I would be successful in its identification.
After paging through Sibley's field guide, the illustrations of a Say's Phoebe seemed to fit this bird. I was at a bit of a disadvantage because of the angle and height in which I observed it, but that rusty belly and gray head made it a pretty obvious call.

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