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Photo Quiz 10 Did you get it right? See the names of correct respondents, below... |
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| Photo Quiz #10. |
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Well, obviously, this is some kind of blackbird or grackle. The black plumage and very straight, sharp-pointed bill, along with full tail eliminate all other possibilities. All respondents got the family correct. Is this a male and female? If so, since both have pale eyes, then a grackle or Rusty Blackbird would be a possibility. Let's first look more closely at the structure, though. As Craig Miller notes: "Bill shape is everything when you can't see the tail. A grackle's bill looks massive compared to these blackbirds." This is true, these bills are too small and straight for any of the grackles. It must be a blackbird, then. So, Rusty Blackbird or Brewer's Blackbird? Female Rusty Blackbirds have pale eyes but, then again, rarely so do female Brewer's Blackbird. Let's look again at the plumage of the browner bird. It is pretty flat brown. I don't see any rusty tones or bars in the plumage. Dave Irons concurs, saying: "This bird is not a Rusty for several reasons. First the supercilium does not really extend past the eye and it is rather grayish white rather than golden or bronze. Secondly, there are not bronzish edges on the back, scapular or wing covert feathers." So, this must be rare female Brewer's Blackbird with a pale eye? Not so fast! Dave Irons continues: "Superficially, the left hand bird looks like a female Brewer's, but it has a white eye and a suggestion of a light supercilium.... This plumage has been poorly treated in field guides, but can be seen annually in late summer and early fall in Oregon. First year male Brewer's get pale eyes before attaining their first all black plumage. This is a first year male Brewer's Blackbird." Was he right? Is this brownish bird a summer juvenile? Yes. These Brewer's Blackbirds were digiscoped at Fernhill Wetlands, Forest Grove, Oregon, on 10 July 2004 by Greg Gillson. Most people correctly identified these birds to species, but only 5 of 15 who identified the brown bird's sex identified it correctly. You know, I misidentified it myself--I've got to be more careful. Paying this level of attention to common birds will pay off down the line in correctly identifying a rare bird, such as a real Rusty Blackbird or Common Grackle in the local winter blackbird flock.
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Guesses:
Correct responses, in order received: |