Something really cool about the birdcam is the way people can campaign in the comments for an ID. It’s like the “ask the audience” feature in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire; we get to tap into that whole “wisdom of crowds” thing. It’s not that any given person is necessarily expert in all these subtle points of bird identification, but get enough of us together, and the cases of self-inflicted myopia will (hopefully) cancel each other out, and we end up with the truth. Or at least, a pretty good approximation.
Case in point: the recent campaign by artemis and robin54 to get people to take a second look at some shots that were being reflexively ID’d as House Finch. I read their comments, looked at the pictures, consulted Sibley, and you know what? I think they’re right. So I went ahead and weighed in with a Purple Finch ID on the following image, and between that vote and those of artemis, kitkat, and robin54, it was enough to switch the ID. Yay!
The image itself was taken by vanilla at 9:44 a.m. on November 1:
I also went back and looked through the recent House Finch images, and I think the following is also probably a Purple Finch. This one was taken by vanilla on October 31 at 1:41 p.m.:
The next image was taken by xav at 1:03 p.m. on October 31. I think it looks pretty Purple Finch-y, too:
Finally, in my excitement I entered a Purple Finch ID on the following image, taken by vanilla at 9:28 a.m. on October 29. But in looking at it again, I think the head shape is more House Finch than Purple Finch, and that my ID was a mistake. What do you think?
Anyway, congratulations to vanilla on getting those great shots of what I’m pretty sure actually was a Purple Finch, and to artemis, kitkat, and robin54 for resisting the impulse to go along with the herd. (Heh. I guess they’ve been inspired by the goats, unlike the rest of us sheep.)
Hah ! I really have to thank artemis and kitcat for their courage, I just opened the door a little and followed . This bird looked so different to me . It seemed bigger overall, the color was more raspberry than the pinkish plumage HF have and I can really see a much heavier beak in vanilla’s 10/31 shot. I think the last shot is a HF. The color is pretty pure , not muddy like a PF , the breast and belly of the bird are not streaked enough. And I think you are correct about the head shape too. Sibley’s Guide has been mentioned several times in comments and here too. I invested in a copy recently. All of my field guides are for the east coast.It made me nuts sometimes not having a real guide to western birds. Sibley has been an eye opener for me . The illustrations of different plumages are really useful,( especially those damned fall warblers !) his descriptions are clear , it covers the whole country. Not good in the field , but good to have in the car when you are out birding. (No I don’t work for Knopf ! )
I had a bit of trouble getting the November 1st shot and was hoping to get more….but the finch moved on; what struck me was his beautiful coloring. It was really exciting to get your IDs on this, as I was thinking house finch. Elanus, you are right when you so often comment that there are always surprises around the corner. I am sure that will hold true in Southern Texas, as well.
Robin…I agree with you about the Sibley’s book. I just got my copy for western birds last week and it has already proven itself invaluable. I’m looking forward to looking over his site recommended by one of the CONE birders before the shut-down. (And I don’t work for Knopf either.) 😉
Linda
The Western edition of the Sibley book is nice; I really like having it to carry around with me when I’m actually bird-watching. But for the really tricky cases, I like having the older, big version of the Sibley guide. It has additional illustrations showing more plumage variations.
That means yet another book to get… :-). I have the set of Western and Eastern Sibley books because they are easier to carry. But if the big version has more plummage variation descriptions, that may be better for understanding Texas birds. There are lots there that I’m sure I won’t know. Also, it’s possible for lots of vagrants from further south. Anyone know if it’s best to wait to get the larger one in case Sibley updates that one soon?
Thanks for the heads up on the larger and more-detailed volumne, Elanus. And Vireo…..another book it is! 🙂 If you get the answer to the possibility of a newer and expanded volumne, please post here for all of us to see.