ML132889291
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
We had been present for quite some time before Kelli located one of the two Clay-colored Sparrows that Dave Goodward first reported here on 15 May. With some effort we eventually managed to see both birds, one of which remained in the open for an extended period of time and repeatedly gave the monotonous series of three harsh, buzzy trills that represents this species' song. This was typical Spizella with respect to its relatively small size, conical bill that would have extended backward on the face only to the rear part of the eye, rounded head, slim body, and relatively long tail. I further noted that the culmen was straight and that the bill tapered to a pointed tip, but I did not note its structure in greater detail. I likewise failed to notice the primary projection, the placement of the wingtips relative to the tail, and the precise length and shape of the tail. This was a truly well-marked bird that was typical of an alternate-plumaged Clay-colored Sparrow. The crown was dark brown with a bold median-stripe that was whitish or cream in coloration and what I thought were some darker streaks. The lower edge of the cap was demarcated by a whitish supercilium that extended from the base of the bill back over the eye and along the upper edge of the auriculars to at least their rear terminus, if not beyond. I further noted that the lores were a warm, light-brown in coloration but unmarked, and that there was a whitish eyering that was complete yet fading into the light brown in the lores. The auriculars were a warm, medium-brown color and they were bordered both above and below by a dark brown stripes that were well defined as they extended back from the eye as a postocular stripe and down the lower part of the face as a moustachial-stripe. I am less sure if the rear edge of the auriculars was similarly demarcated. Further delimiting the moustachial stripe was a white submoustachial stripe and then a wedge-shaped malar-stripe that was dusky and somewhat diffuse in character. Between the malar stripes the throat was white and unmarked down to its junction with the breast, below which there was a relatively indistinct grayish wash at least at the sides, though it may have continued narrowly across the center of the upper breast. The belly, flanks, and I anything I could see on the undertail appeared to be whitish and unmarked, but I am less sure about the tail, which I cannot recall seeing clearly. Given the position of the bird relative to me during my best views I had a hard time seeing the inner remiges, the rump or the upperside of the tail, but I did once see one of these birds from behind, when I noted that the rump was sandy-brown in color and at mostly weakly marked. I was however able to see that the back and scapulars were a sandy-brown with relatively bold, black streaking. The wings were darker than the body and they were boldly marked. I noted two, whitish wingbars that appeared to extend str5aight across the tips of the greater and median coverts, but I am less sure if there were paler edges on these feathers, which had blackish centers. The remiges had a streaked appearance that appeared to reflect the contrast between dark centers and sandy-brown fringes, but I was unable to determine in the field if the fringes on the primaries, secondaries, and inner secondaries differed in character or coloration, and I failed altogether to notice the pattern on the upperside of the tail. I noted that the bill was extensively fleshy in coloration, but not if the culmen was darker, and I likewise noted that the eyes were dark, but I am less sure about the color of the legs and feet.
Technical information
- Model
- Canon EOS 7D
- Lens
- EF400mm f/5.6L USM
- ISO
- 800
- Focal length
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/7.1
- Shutter speed
- 1/640 sec
- Dimensions
- 805 pixels x 650 pixels
- Original file size
- 525.02 KB