ML619075001

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This group of ten was in a pool along Wise Road. After studying them a while, I approached them a little too closely and they flew a short distance up the pool with a chorus of "tu-tu-tu's", confirming the identification. The photos, however, show many useful visual characters. STRUCTURE: Most are relatively trim-bodied and flat-backed; their bills range from short to medium-length, mostly with a deeper base and slightly thicker look than Long-bills show, and with a slight downward kink at the tip, typical of Short-bill. PLUMAGE: All birds that show the underparts clearly have the bright clean orange breast and foreneck of Short-bills in breeding plumage (race hendersoni, the one that occurs in Missouri), with no speckling there, or very slight; the breast-sides (at bend of wing) are finely spotted, not barred; the back is brightly spangled with white to orange feather edges (see especially the second photo); the tail feathers, partially visible in a few images, mostly show equal white and black bars. The bird shown in the last photo is more uncertain, but overall I think it shows Short-billed details that outweigh its superficially Long-billed look.

Technical information

Model

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS

ISO

400

Focal length

215 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.5

Shutter speed

1/1000 sec

Dimensions

4000 pixels x 3000 pixels

Original file size

2.4 MB