I’m not sure they can be. Here’ a picture taken in Texas on the same date
It is typical for all of the “Western” Flycatchers in the Macaulay Library with
a November date. Here is the dullest bird I’ve been able to find:
It still has obvious yellow tones on the sides and olive tones on the back.
Bill didn’t get any photos of the breast, unfortunately, which may have shed
more light on his bird’s ID.
Tom Crabtree, Bend
From: obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Alan Contreras
Sent: Friday, November 13, 2020 11:31 AM
To: birdernaturalist@xxxxxx
Cc: OBOL <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [obol] Re: An interesting Empid at Hatfield Lake on November 10
Fascinating. I did not realize they could be so unyellow. I took the color as
eliminating Western.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx>
www.alanlcontreras.com <http://www.alanlcontreras.com>
On Nov 13, 2020, at 11:07 AM, Richard Hoyer (Redacted sender birdernaturalist
for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> >
wrote:
Hi Bill and All,
I'd rather agree with Maitreya and Paul Sullivan that this is a Western
Flycatcher. The lack of green and yellow you'd come to expect could be a
combination of age, wear/bleaching, and an artifact of the light and digital
rendering of colors. Having said that, first fall Western Flycatcher can look
brownish as on the back in this bird, and one photo (ML 279532961) does show a
yellowish tinge remaining on the breast that should be absent on most other
empids, especially in a worn/bleached state. (I don't think there's anything on
this bird that suggests Yellow-bellied or Acadian.) But the bushy-crested look
as well bill size and shape (long, deep, and wide-based) seem to fit that
"species" best. The almond-shaped eyering is also good for Western, but it's
reduced from a typical fresh-plumaged bird and such an eyering can be seen also
on Hammond's and Dusky.
Amazing find on such a late date.
Good Birding,
Rich
---
Rich Hoyer
Eugene, Oregon
<mailto:birdernaturalist@xxxxxx> birdernaturalist@xxxxxx
Senior Leader for WINGS
<http://wingsbirds.com/> http://wingsbirds.com
my blog: <http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com/>
http://birdernaturalist.blogspot.com
---
On Nov 12, 2020, at 4:53 PM, bill shelmerdine <georn1@xxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:georn1@xxxxxxxxxxx> > wrote:
All,
While birding Hatfield Lake a couple of days ago I encountered an interesting
empid. I have been on the road, just returned home today and downloaded some
digi-scoped photos of the bird and entered the trip list into ebird. I have
yet to work out the I.D. and would welcome any comments or suggestions. Could
lead to some interesting discussion and a chance to learn. Photos and notes
can be found here: <https://ebird.org/checklist/S76175560>
https://ebird.org/checklist/S76175560
Bill Shelmerdine
Olympia WA