Tuesday 23 January 2018

[cobirds] What do y'all make of this woodpecker?


Hey, folks. Check out this woodpecker, which I photographed yesterday, Mon., Jan. 22, at the Lake Park Open Space, Boulder County:



If this photo were from, oh I dunno, Yuma, Arizona, or somewhere, wouldn't we call this a male Gilded Flicker? It's got the all-brown crown, the extensive black tail tips, the big black oval on the breast, the pale back, and of course the telltale red malar and bright yellow in the wing and tail. I well realize that we're not in Yuma. But, other than the probabilistic argument, can anybody talk me away from the ledge of calling this a Gilded Flicker?

Sorry, I have no other photos. When I was in the field, I assumed I was looking at a Red-shafted x Yellow-shafted. I will say that two impressions struck me at the time: (1) the truly yellow hues to the wings and tail; (2) a sweetness and wimpiness about the whirrr flushing call.


Also of interest at the Lake Park Open Space was a flock of 10 Steller's Jays. This is the same place that for several years was the easternmost outpost in Boulder County for Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay.


Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/5ab6af7f-132d-46d6-b5a1-ef817198447e%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

No comments:

Post a Comment