(borrowed from my posting on the Facebook Colorado Rare Bird Alert group)
I'd like to solicit some opinions on this interesting Sturnella sp. meadowlark that I found today in Conejos County in the San Luis Valley. (Please follow the link above to see and hear the bird.) I heard this interesting song over the wind from a distance while driving some county roads that I immediately recognized as a Chihuahuan Meadowlark song, and that was quite exciting.
However, after locating the bird, it stayed very low because of the strong, continuous wind. It was also on the backlot property of a farmhouse, and I wanted to not spook anybody by wandering the county road with my scope or recording equipment if at all possible. At one point I briefly saw it fly away from me at a distance, and I thought I saw lots of white in the tail, which excited me further since that would be more consistent with Chihuahuan vs Western. Eventually I did get good looks in the scope of the bird and got photos and a video. I also have an extended sample of song in the eBird checklist here. My apologies for the terrible wind-buffeting noise – it was impossible to avoid out there today.
To diminish my excitement though for Chihuahuan, I paid close attention to listen for call notes, and sadly the only call notes I heard from this bird were distinctly Western-style notes. As a result, my opinion now is that this could be a Chihuahuan x Western Meadowlark hybrid, based on the combination of interest mix of vocalizations, and of visual characters. But I am hardly an expert, and have never really studied CHME in the field. Any other insights you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
It does seem that a WEMExCHME hybrid would be quite unusual in itself, as it is not yet discussed on the Cornell Birds of the World site.
Good birding,
Eric
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Eric DeFonso
currently in the San Luis Valley, CO
currently in the San Luis Valley, CO
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