cobirds colorado rare bird

Saturday, 14 February 2026

Re: [cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

After a little study, I'm going with Western Bluebird. A Solitaire looks more scaled than spotted. This bird looks more spotted than scaled. Solitaires have longer tails. This birds tail is shorter.

Just my opinion.

Ira Sanders

Golden

On Feb 14, 2026 at 2:37 PM, T. Luke George <t.luke.george@gmail.com> wrote:

Tail seems too short for a solitaire, I think juvenile Western Bluebird is correct.

T. Luke George, PhD
Master Instructor, Colorado State University
Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
Wagar 110
970-491-3311 (o)
Professor Emeritus, Humboldt State University
707-499-4053 (c)
t.luke.george@gmail.com
"what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver

On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 1:51 PM Steve Stachowiak <birdingemails@gmail.com> wrote:
Bill - It appears to be a juvenile Townsend's Solitaire. Steve

On Feb 14, 2026, at 9:31 AM, Bill Kosar <bill_kosar@msn.com> wrote:

I took this picture about 12 years ago in northern New Mexico but I had not identified what kind of bird it was. As part of a current project I needed a good ID on it. It sort of resembled a juvenile robin but was really not a good match, several online tools came up with that ID. Merlin has said it was a Wesstern bluebird which I think is correct.

I know this site is supposed to be about Colorado birds but I seen many mountain and western bluebirds in Colorado so I thought this post was appropriate. I tried Merlin on a few other pictures as a test and I was impressed with its accuracy but once in a while it was way off.

Comments are welcome!

Bill Kosar
El Paso country

<_MG_6500_cr.jpg>

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Re: [cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

Image ID via AI is a very challenging area where a lot of work is being done. There is a very strong focus on identifying melanoma using two-dimension images taken in the doctor's office but the accuracy of current software tools seems to be about 95% at best which is similar to what dermatologists' accuracy is. They are using huge databases (20,000 or more) of pictures of one particular type of cancer and a very experienced dermatologist expects the AI tools to get better over time.

By contrast the database of juvenile western bluebirds (and other juveniles) is probably very small so the Merlin model will not be that accurate, for now. Merlin is making decisions based on a single image, if you could give it images from multiple angles its accuracy would probably be much better.

Bill

On Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 3:04:39 PM UTC-7 Caoimhín Perkins wrote:

Correct me if I'm wrong and if Merlin is incomplete in its photos of immature western bluebirds and townsend's solitaires, but the gape flange is yellow in this photo, which is a western bluebird trait, yes?

Re: [cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

Correct me if I'm wrong and if Merlin is incomplete in its photos of immature western bluebirds and townsend's solitaires, but the gape flange is yellow in this photo, which is a western bluebird trait, yes?

Re: [cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

Tail seems too short for a solitaire, I think juvenile Western Bluebird is correct.

T. Luke George, PhD

Master Instructor, Colorado State University

Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Wagar 110

970-491-3311 (o)

Professor Emeritus, Humboldt State University

707-499-4053 (c)

t.luke.george@gmail.com

"what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver

On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 1:51 PM Steve Stachowiak <birdingemails@gmail.com> wrote:

Bill - It appears to be a juvenile Townsend's Solitaire. Steve

On Feb 14, 2026, at 9:31 AM, Bill Kosar <bill_kosar@msn.com> wrote:

I took this picture about 12 years ago in northern New Mexico but I had not identified what kind of bird it was. As part of a current project I needed a good ID on it. It sort of resembled a juvenile robin but was really not a good match, several online tools came up with that ID. Merlin has said it was a Wesstern bluebird which I think is correct.

I know this site is supposed to be about Colorado birds but I seen many mountain and western bluebirds in Colorado so I thought this post was appropriate. I tried Merlin on a few other pictures as a test and I was impressed with its accuracy but once in a while it was way off.

Comments are welcome!

Bill Kosar
El Paso country

<_MG_6500_cr.jpg>

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<_MG_6500_cr.jpg>

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Re: [cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

Bill - It appears to be a juvenile Townsend's Solitaire. Steve

On Feb 14, 2026, at 9:31 AM, Bill Kosar <bill_kosar@msn.com> wrote:

I took this picture about 12 years ago in northern New Mexico but I had not identified what kind of bird it was. As part of a current project I needed a good ID on it. It sort of resembled a juvenile robin but was really not a good match, several online tools came up with that ID. Merlin has said it was a Wesstern bluebird which I think is correct.

I know this site is supposed to be about Colorado birds but I seen many mountain and western bluebirds in Colorado so I thought this post was appropriate. I tried Merlin on a few other pictures as a test and I was impressed with its accuracy but once in a while it was way off.

Comments are welcome!

Bill Kosar
El Paso country

<_MG_6500_cr.jpg>

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<_MG_6500_cr.jpg>

[cobirds] Juvenile western bluebird and Merlin

I took this picture about 12 years ago in northern New Mexico but I had not identified what kind of bird it was. As part of a current project I needed a good ID on it. It sort of resembled a juvenile robin but was really not a good match, several online tools came up with that ID. Merlin has said it was a Wesstern bluebird which I think is correct.

I know this site is supposed to be about Colorado birds but I seen many mountain and western bluebirds in Colorado so I thought this post was appropriate. I tried Merlin on a few other pictures as a test and I was impressed with its accuracy but once in a while it was way off.

Comments are welcome!

Bill Kosar

El Paso country

Friday, 13 February 2026

[cobirds] be inspired by Citizen Ruth! screening in Boulder 2/24

Boulder County Audubon invites you to join us for a special showing of the film Citizen Ruth: Environmental Warrior, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. To protect the filmmaker's intellectual property, this program is offered in person only (no Zoom option, no recording) at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (5001 Pennsylvania Avenue Boulder, CO, 80303). We'll start a little earlier than usual - 7:00 pm - and please join us beforehand for cookies and conversation, starting at 6:30 pm.

Ruth Wright is one of Boulder's environmental heroes, whose story of problem-solving, persisting, and finding allies in unexpected places is inspiring no matter where you live. Now is a good time to watch it (anew or again), as it offers a lesson for environmental advocates to take to heart: One person can make a difference, and all of us should try. Ruth will join us for a moderated conversation afterwards, along with two friends - naturalist and open space advocate Dave Sutherland, who appears in the film, and filmmaker Pam Hoge, who is in town for the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.

More details about the film, the special guests, and a film trailer here:

https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/feb-2026-program

An FM hearing assistive system is available in the church - pick up a receiver as you enter. See more details at the link above.

- Sandra Laursen

for the BCAS programs committee