Justin,
Calls clearly are critical. In my experience, Yellow-bellied doesn't sing in
fall, but it does give a call that might remind you of Eastern Wood-pewee, and
this is a call it gives all winter long on the wintering grounds in Central
America. I would say if you heard sounds like anything near the song of Least
or Yellow-bellied, then it was a Least, because their calls don't sound
anything like Yellow-bellied call, and not like Willow or Alder calls either.
Best birding,
Stefan
Stefan Woltmann, Ph.D.
Dept. Biology, and
Center of Excellence for Field Biology
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN 37040 USA
On Sep 27, 2019, at 18:33, fndrbndr59 <fndrbndr59@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll add one thing. If Yellow-bellied can be
ruled out from the photos and the ID is between Least and Alder, then it
would have to be a Least, I'd think. The bird was very vocal before we lost
it, calling 10-15 times what sounded like the Least or Yellow-bellied song
from the Merlin app. Both of these songs sound similar to me, but neither
sound like an Alder, so I really don't think this is a Alder. As for
Yellow-bellied or Least I'd love to hear more from you guys or others as to
why it is or isn't either. I'm fine with leaving it at Empidonax sp., but
still think these ID conversations are a great chance to learn, especially
with tricky groups like empids.
Thanks again,
Justin Nation
-------- Original message --------
From: Ruben Stoll <birdchaserrws@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 9/27/19 3:46 PM (GMT-06:00)
To: stefan.woltmann@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: fndrbndr59 <fndrbndr59@xxxxxxxxx>, hughbarger@xxxxxxxxx,
"tn-bird@freelists org" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [TN-Bird] Re: Two Empid IDs
I agree with both of your empidonax IDs. Very little room for doubt on the
Yellow-bellied and at least a few of the Least photos look like they are
good enough to eliminate Alder which I think is the only ID competitor.
Ruben Stoll, Centerville Tennessee.
On Fri, Sep 27, 2019 at 3:12 PM Stefan Woltmann <stefan.woltmann@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
As lovely as Merlin is, there is simply no reasonable way to expect that it
could correctly identify silent fall Empidonax flycatchers.
Stefan
On Fri, Sep 27, 2019 at 3:04 PM Hugh Barger <hughbarger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Justin, for what it's worth I agree with both your IDs. I ran your pics
through the Merlin App and it agreed also.
Hugh Barger
Williamson County
On Fri, Sep 27, 2019 at 2:42 PM fndrbndr59 <fndrbndr59@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Wilson county
I'm fielding opinions on two empids I photographed over the last two days.
First, I photographed what I believe is a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
yesterday (9-26-19). This bird was silent.
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60129997
Second, we found a empid this morning, which I think is a Least
Flycatcher.
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S60154964
Confirmation/correction plus any notes would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Justin Nation
--
Hugh Barger
--
Stefan Woltmann, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dept. of Biology, and
Center of Excellence for Field Biology
Austin Peay State University
Clarksville, TN 37044
931-221-7772
woltmanns@xxxxxxxx
