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--Boundary_(ID_P0ydP1s8z6rkptaoKnMpfg)
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Hi everyone,
I want to emphasis the point Richard has made. Any photograph is a
product of many, many factors; from the camera equipment being used and
how it is being used to the environmental conditions that exist when the
picture is taken to the individual behaviour and posture of the subject.
Nova Scotia's Empidonax flycatchers are easily identified by song/call
but very difficult to do so from a photograph. As Richard notes, two
photographs of the same bird may result in different conclusions as to
what the species is, even among very experienced observers. There are
some characteristics that are 'normaly' associated, or not associated,
with certain species but individual variation, age, sex and the other,
above mentioned factors can both hide features that are present and
suggest features when they don't exist.
So, if possible, try to identify empids by their song/call and, if you
want to try and use photography to identify a bird, try to take many,
many shots.
All the best,
Lance
===========================
Lance Laviolette
Glen Robertson, Ontario
lance.laviolette@lmco.com
===========================
________________________________
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Richard Stern
Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:06 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Flycatchers
Hi,
Eye rings, like many other plumage features on Empid.
flycatchers, come and go depending on the angle and the light. Single
photos are notoriously difficult for ID-ing this group. I once showed 2
pictures of empids to some of the best field experts, and got all kinds
of interesting analyses - they were actually a single Alder Flycatcher
taken a few seconds apart, before and after it jumped from a well-lit
tree to a poorly lit one. The 2 pictures looked like 2 different
species. Having said that, apparently Willow Flycatchers do indeed have
the least apparent eye rings of the empids that occur in NS, but Alders
can too.
For a very thorough analysis of what to look for and what not to
look for in empids, there is a good chapter in the Field Guide to
Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufman - paperback, one of the Peterson Field
Guide series. BTW that's an excellent book for thorough ID discussions
of all sorts of other difficult species too.
Richard
On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 9:16 PM, Paul Murray
<murraypaul@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:
Thanks Angus. I guess that explains why I could not
find a reference picture of and Alder Flycatcher without an eyering! I
also noted a large variety of plumage shades and colours in the
references that I checked so I was somewhat confused by it all. My only
wish is that I could have heard the song but unfortunately my hearing is
shot and I could not.
Paul
--Boundary_(ID_P0ydP1s8z6rkptaoKnMpfg)
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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>Hi everyone,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>I want to emphasis the point Richard has made. Any
photograph is a product of many, many factors; from the camera equipment being
used and how it is being used to the environmental conditions that exist when
the picture is taken to the individual behaviour and posture of the
subject.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>Nova Scotia's Empidonax flycatchers are easily
identified by song/call but very difficult to do so from a photograph. As
Richard notes, two photographs of the same bird may result in different
conclusions as to what the species is, even among very experienced observers.
There are some characteristics that are 'normaly' associated, or not
associated, with certain species but individual variation, age, sex and the
other, above mentioned factors can both hide features that are present and
suggest features when they don't exist.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>So, if possible, try to identify empids by their
song/call and, if you want to try and use photography to identify a bird, try to
take many, many shots.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>All the best,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008>Lance</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN
class=787132713-11062008><!-- Converted from text/rtf format -->
<P><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2>===========================</FONT></SPAN> <BR><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT
face="Courier New" size=2>Lance Laviolette</FONT></SPAN> <BR><SPAN
lang=en-us><FONT face="Courier New" size=2>Glen Robertson, Ontario</FONT></SPAN>
<BR><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT face="Courier New"
size=2>lance.laviolette@lmco.com</FONT></SPAN> <BR><SPAN lang=en-us><FONT
face="Courier New" size=2>===========================</FONT></SPAN>
</P></SPAN></FONT></DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca
[mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Richard
Stern<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, June 10, 2008 9:06 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
naturens@chebucto.ns.ca<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NatureNS]
Flycatchers<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Hi,<BR><BR>Eye rings, like many other plumage features on Empid.
flycatchers, come and go depending on the angle and the light. Single photos
are notoriously difficult for ID-ing this group. I once showed 2 pictures of
empids to some of the best field experts, and got all kinds of interesting
analyses - they were actually a single Alder Flycatcher taken a few seconds
apart, before and after it jumped from a well-lit tree to a poorly lit one.
The 2 pictures looked like 2 different species. Having said that, apparently
Willow Flycatchers do indeed have the least apparent eye rings of the empids
that occur in NS, but Alders can too.<BR><BR>For a very thorough analysis of
what to look for and what not to look for in empids, there is a good chapter
in the Field Guide to Advanced Birding by Kenn Kaufman - paperback, one of the
Peterson Field Guide series. BTW that's an excellent book for thorough ID
discussions of all sorts of other difficult species
too.<BR><BR>Richard<BR><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 9:16 PM, Paul Murray <<A
href="mailto:murraypaul@ns.sympatico.ca">murraypaul@ns.sympatico.ca</A>>
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">
<DIV bgcolor="#ffffff">
<DIV><FONT size=2>Thanks Angus. I guess that explains why I could not
find a reference picture of and Alder Flycatcher without an
eyering! I also noted a large variety of plumage shades and
colours in the references that I checked so I was somewhat confused by it
all. My only wish is that I could have heard the song but
unfortunately my hearing is shot and I could not.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Paul</FONT></DIV>
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--Boundary_(ID_P0ydP1s8z6rkptaoKnMpfg)--
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