Re: [cobirds] Empid ID help, please (Boulder County)

Hey Richard,

Indeed, this is a Dusky as you initially thought. The dark mandible and messy eye-ring are both pointers for Dusky over Gray, which should have almost entirely orange lower mandibles at all ages, and almost no apparent eye-ring. The way Duskies move their tails can make them easily confused with Gray, since neither of these species typically accompany their tail movement with wing movement, as Hammond's and Least to. However, if you'd paid very careful attention to its tail movement, you likely would've noticed a slight upwards movement before dipping down. In the case of Grays, there is typically null upward movement before dipping. 

Hope this helps :)

David Tonnessen

Boulder, CO

On Tue, Sep 1, 2020, 2:45 PM Richard Trinkner <richardinboulder@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi folks,

I saw the bird below in the Boulder Community Gardens yesterday afternoon.  At first I thought it was a Dusky Flycatcher (the most common in the Gardens), but it was flicking its tail like a Gray Flycatcher and it looks grayer than a typical Dusky. It was also perched low to the ground, but then in the Gardens there aren't many higher perches. I've stared at the Sibley illustrations of both species for a while now, and can't seem to attain enlightenment. 

I'd appreciate any ID suggestions!

Richard Trinkner

Boulder

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