[texbirds] Re: ID help requested / Greater Pewee / Cottonwood Campground
- From: "Rex Stanford" <calidris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TEXBIRDS" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 4 Jun 2012 13:39:30 -0500
Please start sending your posts to texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Perhaps my observations of Greater Pewee at Roselawn Cemetery, McAllen, TX
on November 27, 2010 will be helpful. I have supplemented my memory by
having just now retrieved and studied the photos. At Roselawn Cemetery the
bird had a wide variety of choices of where to perch. What almost--but not
quite--always happened was that it perched on a bare or sparsely leafed
branch in the upper area of the tree, generally in the top 30-40%, but
usually near the outer reaches of a small branch, rather than toward the
center of the tree. Of course, it needed a situation where it would not be
difficult to dash off in pursuit of a food item. It appears from my photos
that twice it was a bit lower than that. (It moved around very often.) At
one point it did sit for a some time atop a broken-off branch at the very
top of a tree, in the manner of Olive-sided Flycatchers. On the other hand,
it once perched at about mid-level in a well-foliated tree, but still toward
the periphery, where I was able to photograph it without obscuration.
To reiterate or summate a bit, this Greater Pewee liked to perch on
relatively to completely bare branches, usually in the upper 30-40% of the
branching area of the three, but, occasionally, lower. It was not always in
the top of the tree, even when it had a good opportunity with some bare
branches present at the top. And, again, it did once elect to perch in a
very shady, area amidst densely foliaged branches, albeit still not in the
interior of the branched portion of the tree. I suspect that, if its
behavior at this cemetery is typical, this species may be a relatively
flexible pragmatist in its choice of perches for feeding.
Rex Stanford
McAllen, TX
----- Original Message -----
From: "Collins, Fred (Commissioner Pct. 3)" <Fred_Collins@xxxxxxxx>
To: "TexBirds Posting" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2012 12:11 PM
Subject: [texbirds] Re: ID help requested / Greater Pewee / Cottonwood
Campground
Please start sending your posts to texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chuck Sexton, Austin, TX wrote: Another aspect mitigating against Greater
Pewee is the location of the bird *on a branch somewhere below the canopy*.
Unless this bird was attracted in by digital calls (I hope not), I seem to
recall that the Greater Pewee is an inveterate snag percher like the
Olive-sided.
I recall the same behavior from my limited experience with the bird in
Arizona and Mexico but I also recall the bird that wintered in San Antonio
almost never perched on top of anything and was rather Eastern Phoebe-like
or Pewee-like in its perch choices. I attributed it to the coolness of the
day and wind but perhaps they are not obligate snag sitters away from the
breeding grounds.
Fred Collins
(281) 357-5324
Director: Kleb Woods Nature Center
Cypress Top Historical Park
Commissioner Steve Radack
Harris County Precinct 3
www.pct3.hctx.net
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