This bird was not even in Oregon. Next.
Alan Contreras
Eugene, Oregon
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
www.alanlcontreras.com
On Nov 25, 2020, at 5:17 PM, Robert O'Brien <baro@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Well, different people looking at the same photo reach different conclusions.
That's why there are committees.
As to the tail projection. BOTH Sooty & Short-tailed have similar foot
projections and it's considerably longer than this.bird's projection,
this in spite of their relative names. And the comparison of the
neck/head/bill in the 3 in 1 photo I posted appears fuzzy. But pretty
distinctive.
Bob OBrien Carver OR
PS Just as an aside I've been counting and I've just now gone over
1,000,000 fuzzy bird photos that I've studied over the last 70 years!
This is likely due to my focusing abilities. And I don't mean my eye
focusing. Still have 20/20 corrected. I mean the other focusing.
On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 5:01 PM Russ Namitz <namitzr@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
This recent discussion about a poor photo of an out-of-focus seabird and
using it as a basis for a mega-rarity was amusing to say the least.
Gray-faced Petrel?
Yes, there is some lightness around the face, but so is there in the lower
right belly flank, the right edge of the tail and the trailing edges of the
secondaries....probably all an artifact of light reflecting off the ocean.
The primaries do seem to be on the rounder side, but nothing about the bird
is in focus and even sharp edges get blurred and rounded in this situation.
The bill appears short, and probably is, but the bird is quartering away and
that angle makes the bill appear shorter than in a side profile
There are projections from the central tail retrices....either toes or
feathers.
Also, asking someone about seabird flight style who isn’t already fairly
familiar with the nuances of seabirds is very subjective and is likely
leading the witness.
I personally think that they are toes behind that tail and, I think you know
where I am going with this....This is obviously a Mouse-colored Tyrannulet.
Good birding,
Russ Namitz
Sent from my iPhone
