[bcbirdclub] Re: Leucosystic Song Sparrow?
- From: "Richard Kretz" <fatcatz33@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:56:42 -0400
Hey Roger,
Glad you're enjoying your new camera... The 40-D is pretty awesome... Super
shot of the Red-Tail...
Has a date been set for Sparrow Day yet?
Agree with your call on the sparrow. Tuesday afternoon I briefly saw and
photographed it again. The photos were taken at a distance of about 45 feet
with a Canon 40-D set on aperature priority with a 100-400 lens extended to
400. After studying the photos I was fairly well stumped. First inclination was
a Snow Bunting, but quickly ruled that out. Upon close examination it became
apparant that it wasn't a Song Sparrow either. A cursory assessment of its
feathers implied possibly either White-Crowned or White-Throated Sparrow. But
as that didn't seem quite right either, I called Wallace who was kind enough to
walk me through the ID process using the new photos. It was a good learning
experience that I'd like to share with our club members who may encounter
challenging IDs in the future... The first thing we considered was the bird's
size. In the irst photo it's sitting next to a Goldfinch. As a Goldfinch is
about 5 inches in size and the sparrow was comparable, it offered a starting
point. A White-Cowned Sparrow is about 7 inches, a White-Throated is about
6.75, and a Song is about 6.25, all too large to be our brd. For consideration
we looked at possible sparrows in our area that were approx. 5 to 5.75 inches,
which included Savannah, Clay-Colored, Field, Swamp, and Lincoln. Of these, I
have Chipping Sparrows in the yard regularly at this time of year and Field and
Savannah only occassionally. Our bird has a pinkish bill with a dark tip, weak
mustache, dark eye-line, whitish wing bars, feathers that are brown with black
centers, grayish-brown rump, dark tail feathers, notched tail, and a drab
gray-brown unstreaked breast. We also considered habitat which is orchard-like
without much brush, and the bird's behavior which was strong direct flight from
the apple tree to the stream and back. After considering these factors it
appears that the bird is probably a juvenile/immature leucosystic Chipping
Sparrow.
Enjoy the birds....
Richard
----- Original Message -----
From: Roger Mayhorn
To: bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, October 09, 2007 11:01 PM
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Re: Leucosystic Song Sparrow?
Richard,
Great shot of the unusual bird. At first glance the bird looks like a Snow
Bunting, but upon closer examination you can tell it isn't. I don't know which
sparrow species it is, but the bill and head shape don't look quite right to me
for a Song Sparrow, though I could be wrong. I was wrong once many years ago :)
Hey, I am really enjoying my new camera. I love the way it focuses. I just
ordered an 8 gig and a 4 gig card for it.
Roger
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Kretz
To: Buchanan Co Bird Club ; Bristol Birds
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 6:16 PM
Subject: [bcbirdclub] Leucosystic Song Sparrow?
Folks,
Had what may be a leucosystic (hope that's the correct word) Song Sparrow
in our stream this afternoon as well as female Blue and Rose-Breasted
Grosbeaks. Here are two photos of the sparrow for your consideration...
Enjoy the birds...
Richard Kretz
Elk Garden, Russell Co., VA
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