Redpoll identification is challenging because Hoary and Common Redpoll seem to show an unbroken continuum of variation from pale to dark, and there are no fully reliable differences. So birders have to rely on a subjective assessment of overall color and struggle to define the threshold for confident identification. Virtually all birders see redpolls only […]
Urging caution when identifying Common Redpolls Read More »
I’m reposting here some comments I just sent to ID-Frontiers, about a pale redpoll in Illinois and another in Massachusetts: The comment under these photos on the ILBIRDS forum giving the bird an index score between 11 and 12 is, I would say, overly generous. The undertail coverts that we can see (not much) seem
Comments on two redpolls Read More »
[edited 12 and 14 Jan, 2008, adding comments about the index] I’ve been thinking about redpolls more, and had another, more careful, look at Troy’s 1985 paper, which is filled with interesting observations and some serious “food for thought”. First of all, Troy identified redpoll specimens using a character index, which is a well-established method
A Character Index for Redpoll identification Read More »
I have had two inquiries about Tropical Parula in the last 24 hours, prompted by a bird currently in Austin, Texas. You can check out that bird in photos by Andy Balinsky and photos and some background by Martin Reid. It has the throat pattern and extensively yellow underparts of Tropical Parula, but the pale
On the MOU website: a Hoary photo Here from Minnesota (where Hoary is expected and the threshold is low) of a pale Hoary-type with a relatively long bill Some other recent Hoary photos from Michigan – scroll left and right to see about 5 shots From Ontario this photo and the two following show a
A couple of Redpoll additions Read More »
More thoughts on redpolls after yesterday’s post, prompted by my own nagging doubts and a query from Nick Anich: In all of this redpoll ID discussion, I think people ask the general question “How can I identify a Hoary?” when what they mean is the more specific question “Just how pale/small-billed/unstreaked does a redpoll have
The Redpoll Questions Read More »
[Edited 2 Jan to add a hint of uncertainty to the identifications] Over the holidays I was able to spend a few days at my parents’ house in upstate New York, and enjoyed the redpolls that were visiting the bird feeder. I saw one clear-cut Hoary and at least two other Hoary-type Redpolls, and at
My Holiday (Redpoll) Photos Read More »
After my previous posts on redpolls here and here, I’ve had a chance to skim some of the redpoll literature, and it confirms that these are two very similar species (gasp! really?). Two papers in particular by Seutin et al (1992, 1993) offer some interesting observations. They conclude that it is possible to classify specimens
Our perspective and the assumptions and decisions that are triggered by that point-of-view, strongly influence how we perceive the world around us. In short, what we see often depends on how we look at it. This classic drawing looks like a frog sitting on the edge of a pond… but rotate it ninety degrees and
Perspective on a mystery bird Read More »
If identifying Hoary Redpoll is not enough of a challenge for you, maybe you’d like to look for subspecies of Hoary and Common Redpolls? First, check out this map from the Canadian Atlas of Bird Banding. This shows selected western band recoveries of Common Redpolls, and the obvious suggestion is that some of the Common
Redpoll subspecies Read More »