Contributeur
Date
Site d'observation
- Âge et sexe
- Juvénile, sexe inconnu - X
Commentaires
This continuing juvenile, possibly female, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker had been found the previous day by Steve Myers was photographed here by Curtis A. Marantz on 8 October 2017 at the Desert Studies Center, Zzyzx, San Bernardino County, California.
Détails de l'observation
I believe it was Sandy who initially spotted the continuing sapsucker foraging quietly in the tamarisk tree along the eastern edge of the property behind the swimming pool, where it remained for a short period of time before it flew up into the palms bird was somewhat further away but also more in the open. This bird foraged by quietly tapping on the trunk and I never heard it vocalize. This was a medium-sized woodpecker with a bill that was slim and about as long as the head was wide. The bill tapered from a base of medium depth to a pointed tip along what appeared to be a straight culmen. This bird's head was more rounded than those of many of the woodpeckers in that had a short neck that was stout and inconspicuous as it merged with a plump, full-chested body. I thought the wings were at least of medium-length and that the tail was relatively short and spiky. I failed to notice anything about this bird's legs or feet. This bird was still in juvenal plumage and although it had a subtle pattern on the face, it lacked bright coloration in the plumage. As far as I could determine the crown, nape, face, and back and sides of the neck were a dingy gray in color with a somewhat uneven or possibly mottled appearance. I noted a diffuse supercilium that extended back from the eye along the upper edge of the auriculars and that the supercilium was complemented by a moustachial stripe that extended from the base of the bill across the lower part of the face. Both stripes were off-whitish in color, diffuse in character, and relatively inconspicuous. Also apparent was that the throat was whitish down to its junction with the breast, below which the breast and sides were about the same dingy-gray color as the head. I further noted extensive mottling along the flanks, but I did not see any obvious yellow tones in the belly, and I cannot now remember much of anything about the undertail coverts. Returning to the upperparts, the back and scapulars were blackish in color, but with mottling of buff to creamy-yellowish throughout. I did not think this bird showed a suggestion of two relatively well-defined braces on either side of the back. Clearly apparent was a broad, white blaze along the leading edge of the wing that appeared to extend across the outer wing-coverts, but I thought the inner part of the wing was relatively solidly black. I also noted that the remiges were relatively finely barred with black-and-white seemingly throughout. I noted an intricate pattern on the uppertail coverts that appeared to combine generally white feathers with what appeared to be a wavy, U-shaped band of black subterminally. My memory of the tail pattern is not very good, but I have some recollection of there being a contrast between generally black feathers that had some semblance whitish fringes along the edges. The bill and eyes were both dark, but I failed to notice their precise coloration, and I cannot even recall this much about the color of the legs or feet.
Informations techniques
- Modèle
- Canon EOS 7D Mark II
- Lentille
- EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
- ISO
- 320
- Longueur focale
- 400 mm
- Flash
- Flash did not fire, auto
- f-stop
- f/8.0
- Vitesse d'obturation
- 1/1250 sec
- Dimensions
- 1723 pixels x 1120 pixels
- Taille originale du fichier
- 1.96 MB