ML595268931

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

Confusing bird. Initially seen perched near a calurus RTHA. Digibin photos taken as the bird was visibly extremely pale. I at first thought it was a pale borealis, but after conferring with other birders realized that it could be a fuertesi. This would be extremely rare (1st CO state record) and I have little experience with this subspecies, so I am waiting to get more feedback before a final ID (if any) is made. In flight the bird had normal RTHA upperparts (pale backpack straps, dark brown back) but the tail was notably paler at the base with an insignificant subterminal band. The underside was almost pure buffy-white, with solid patagial bars, and brown-tipped primaries. I never noticed any form of a belly band (except for some light horizontal barring at the flanks visible in the last picture. From the pictures I have found this does not rule out fuertesi). The head appeared darker brown with a relatively indistinct white chin patch. Interestingly, the legs immediately appeared longer and barer than I've seen on an RTHA, though whether this is due to the bird's posture, the individual bird, or the subspecies it belongs to is unclear. The bird appeared very similar to the ones pictured in ML22509541, ML143724281, and ML135439191. Most of the borealis pictures I have found show a reasonably distinct belly band, but as RTHAs are so variable it is still very possible that this individual is a surprisingly pale borealis.

Technical information

Model

iPhone SE (2nd generation)

Lens

iPhone SE (2nd generation) back camera 3.99mm f/1.8

ISO

20

Focal length

4 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/1.8

Shutter speed

1/1279 sec

Dimensions

4032 pixels x 3024 pixels

Original file size

1.67 MB