Tyrannus sp. - Chris Fischer

ML183738471

Tyrannus sp. Tyrannus sp.

Report

Contributor

Date

Location

Guanaja--Camino a North-East Bight
Islas de la Bahía, Honduras
Media from this location Illustrated Checklist
Map
Map Coordinates: 16.5024676, -85.855
Age
Not specified
Sex
Not specified

Observation details

Most probably a very dumpy EAKI due to longer primary projection. It turns out EAKI apparently *can* show a yellow crown (contrary to James Bond, our reference at the time of the observation, who wrote that EAKI "never has a yellow crown"). I still have reservations about the size of the bill, which to me seems too large for EAKI & that's why I'm leaving this as Tyrannus sp. for now. (Updated 5/22/20). Original notes -- When we first spotted the bird, none of us recognized it as a species with which we were familiar. It was perched across a cattle field on a short fence post, from which it was sallying for insects. Due to some missing or misarranged feathers, a bright yellow crown patch was clearly visible. Upon reviewing the first quick photos in the field, we noted a very large bill that we later confirmed once the bird moved closer to our location. The bird struck us as a kingbird, but it was noticeably bigger than Eastern Kingbird & the upperparts were grayish brown, not gray like Gray Kingbird. Also, both of the expected kingbirds here (Eastern & Gray) have orange/red crowns, not yellow. We briefly considered Thick-billed, but the bird in question had little to no yellow in the vent and flanks. That left Loggerhead Kingbird as the most likely possibility. On the return hike, a short call was noted by Roland that resembled the Xeno-canto recording XC209399. After trying several different playbacks, including Gray Kingbird and Thick-billed Kingbird, the bird in question seemingly responded by coming closer when we played several different calls of Loggerhead Kingbird. Also, for the most part, except when it flew closer to us, it was perched & sallying from close to the ground (fence wire & fence posts). Photos attached.

Technical information

Model
E-M1MarkII
Lens
M.300mm F4.0 + MC-14
ISO
400
Focal length
420 mm
Flash
Flash did not fire
f-stop
f/8.0
Shutter speed
1/400 sec
Dimensions
1080 pixels x 810 pixels
Original file size
926.58 KB