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View Full Version : help with another ID... (image included)

melin
12-20-2009, 11:20 PM
can i get a hand with an ID? - probably an easy one but im having trouble narrowing it down. and i apologize for the poor photo quality - hopefully its good enough!

thanks in advance!
Mary Lee
12-21-2009, 08:11 AM
From what I can see in the photo it looks like a Cedar Waxwing.
Birder 13
12-21-2009, 08:42 AM
my thought was an american goldfinch as a cedar waxwing does not have a white bar on it's wing.
dpbronze
12-21-2009, 11:59 AM
Hey -
I think the lack of black face mask rules out Waxwing ( my first impression at seeing the thumbnail image) ... but the bill not being visible makes the choice between Orange-crowned Warb & Am goldfinch less obvious. I think you can't see the wing well enough, & a couple branches give the illusion of a wing bar instead.
How was the bird behaving ?? If it hopped & flitted around alot within that bush/tree ... more likely OC ; Did it ever call ? A sharp wispy "chit" would be OC... a more drawn out, soft, high "chereeer" is Goldie.... who often also goes " chi-chi-chi- chit" as it flies away. DavidP
wanderer
12-21-2009, 11:10 PM
I lightened the photo to at least see some more detail, but I would say it's still just iffy. I don't think it's a wing bar, but a twig in the way. Cedar Waxwing would be my guess, if indeed it is a twig and not a wing bar.

http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx127/worstphotosonthenet/th_id.gif (http://s748.photobucket.com/albums/xx127/worstphotosonthenet/?action=view&current=id.gif)
melin
12-22-2009, 12:10 PM
well, i again would like to apologize for the crappy photo quality - it is awful!

no, the wing bars are definitely there and was the most distinctive thing about these guys. it was definitely not a Cedar Waxwing.

unfortunately i wasnt able to hear any call - there were two of them both looking pretty much identical and they were very quiet. then of course they flew away before i could get a really good shot. I was with a buddy who also took some photos, and he says they werent very good either, but i will try to acquire one to post this evening that might show a bit more.

after reading comments and doing a bit of guidebook-searching, at this point i am leaning toward a winter-plumage Goldfinch. But I'll try to get a couple more photos to verify.

thanks so much for all the help so far!! stay tuned for additional photos...