ML642247349

Observation details

Medium to long-tailed empid with minimal upper/underparts contrast, short primary extension, longer bill with a dark tip. This bird immediately stood out to me as very gray overall and a potential Dusky, but I tempered my hopes and took my time since I've been tricked many times this year by weird Least Flycatchers. Luckily, this bird was cooperative and cycled between a few perches in young willows for about 15 minutes on the west end of the lake. It was flicking in its tail quite a bit, but not dipping like a Phoebe, so I eliminated Gray. The bill seemed rather long and the head was not peaked, so that eliminated Hammond's. With only Least left, I focused mostly on the contrast between upper/under/throat and the wing panel. Overall the contrast seemed pretty low, especially between the head and the throat. That, plus the long bill and proportionally long tail sealed it as a Dusky. Lifer, Nebraska #352, Nebraska year #344