ML132888181

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This bird gave the complex bubbling song that it typical of both Winter and Pacific Wrens, though it seemed shorter in duration than the typical song of a Pacific Wren. I do not know, however, if this reflected the fact that this bird was giving incomplete songs or instead if it was a Winter Wren. I heard only a very few "chimp, chimp" calls and these never clearly enough to determine which species was involved, but the "churring" call that this bird gave after playback was not overly familiar to me, though its quality may have been more like that of Winter than Pacific Wren. I saw this bird relatively well, but it was often not exceptionally close when in the open for extended periods of time and during these times I tried to get some photos (with reasonable success). I therefore saw the overall patterns better than the subtle details of both the structure and plumage patterns. This was a conspicuously small, plump bird with what appeared to be a large head, no neck, and a rounded body with a somewhat pot-bellied appearance. The medium-length bill was slim and with a pointed tip and I thought the crown had a somewhat flattened appearance, though I did not see this very well. The short tail was often held cocked upward over the back. I thought the wings were short, but I did not see them all that well. The legs were relatively conspicuous, but I am not sure if this was a result of their length, mass, or pale coloration. This bird was mostly a relatively dark shade of warm or even reddish-brown above. I did notice the darker barring on the wings and I think the tail, but I never thought the primaries had conspicuous white spots along their leading edges, and in fact, I did not see obvious pale markings anywhere on the upperparts, wings, or tail. Clearly apparent was a diffuse supercilium that seemed to vary from pale buff to a relatively rich cinnamon color depending on the light. Similarly, the throat and breast appeared at times to be almost cinnamon in color, but at others, and probably when seen in the best light, I thought they were a relatively pale shade of buff. Despite the apparent variation in the color of the supercilium and throat, I never thought either were grayish or even with cold tones. The flanks were darker than the sides and breast, and they seemed to be barred darker. I thought the bill was generally dark, but the mouth linings were yellowish or fleshy when seen as the bird sang, and I was never sure if the lower mandible contrasted as paler than the upper. The eyes were dark and the legs and feet were pale, but I was never quite sure of the precise coloration of either.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

3200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

1151 pixels x 911 pixels

Original file size

1.23 MB