ML41553421

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Continuing Emberiza-type bunting. Similarly proportioned to Rustic Bunting, but bulkier on breast (probably a reflection of the bird puffing up in the cold) and noticeably longer, thinner tail. Pale eye-ring, dark lores extending through eye and wrapping around ear coverts. Obvious white line under eye through cheek. Pale grayish crown stripe. Upper mandible gray-black, lower yellow. White throat. Reddish-brown streaks on breast and flanks, white belly. Unstreaked nape. Black streaks on brown back. Dark-centered coverts and tertials edged in buffy-brown, and secondaries tipped with same color. Thin pale edging to primaries. Reddish-brown rump. Long tail with extensive white on the outer tail feathers (seen only in flight). Undertail coverts white with very fine streaking. Short legs. Behavior: very active. Seen feeding on grass seeds, whose stems were projecting above the snow. The bird would hop between stems, reach up and bend stems down to feed. (There’s an abundance of this food source currently at Gambell – until the snow covers it. Not seen feeding on any of the seed brought by birders.) Would flush short distances, and frequently perch on higher structures (whale bones, fencing around dump and sewage pond). Call: always called in flight, and frequently when perched. High-pitched, metallic tzip.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

3200

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/1600 sec

Dimensions

3526 pixels x 2351 pixels

Original file size

3.73 MB