ML219297261
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Playback
- Not specified
Observation details
I report this Empid. to species with confidence based on a) vocalizations, b) contextual factors such as micro-habitat, range, and time of year, and finally c) field marks as described below. After seeing that all Empids flagged as rare in eBird, and thinking it a good candidate for DUFL/HAFL immediately, I went about gathering as much documentation as I could without a camera. The first impression I had was that this was a VERY yellow bird below, especially in the belly and flanks but even up through the lower breast. It had a grayish-dusky vest. The throat was not yellow; it was off-white. It had a prominent eye-ring that was flared in the rear. It was a relatively long-tailed bird, another salient feature right off the bat. It flew from the middle of the brushy field where it was foraging and lit overhead in a cottonwood. Presently, the bird began giving a subtle 'pwit... pwit' call. I was able to record this (but not well -- see embedded player below); these calls very much resemble online recordings of what is usually called a soft "whit" vocalization given by DUFL, and do not particularly favor any recordings I have found for HAFL. The bird remained in the cottonwood for a while foraging, where I was able to get some terrible digibinned photos with my phone (see below). Especially after comparing the bird I observed to excellent photos of another DUFL found 4 days previously at Bosque del Apache NWR, I believe that this documentation is good enough to substantiate the record.
Technical information
- Recorder
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 170.93 KB