10.2 [SFBirds] 10.2.99 SF Birds
In addition to the YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD
(city bird), I also had an
ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER in the restoration area north of Skyline
Grove.
10.2 [SFBirds] Re: [SFBirds] Yellow-headed
Blackbird
Dan Singer wrote:
> One neat thing I had never noticed before is that the cloaca
is
> ringed in yellow. Very fancy!
>
After I had originally located the bird, the
flock flew, perhaps in response
to the two RTHA that were glidingly idly in the vicinity. When
I was
rescanning the flock, I saw this very field mark (of which I
was not aware) as the bird
was facing away from me and assumed (correctly) that this had
to be the bird.
10.2 Yellow-headed
Blackbird, Buffalo Paddock, Golden Gate Park, SF
Description courtesy of Dan
Singer:
"More exciting for me was the Yellow-headed
Blackbird at the bison zoo. At 4:30-4:45 it was feeding fairly
close to the fence along JFK Drive with lots of other blackbirds.
I was able to watch it bathe in the mud puddles near the orange
cones and was feeling rather smug after having four blackbird
species in view at once. Does anyone have an opinion on the sex
of this bird? At first look I assumed it was a female, but after
a more lengthy study and then going home and reading a bit about
first-basic plumages I've decided I don't know. I thought perhaps
it had too much white in the primary coverts for a first-basic
female, but I'm not sure how much white females can show. Adult
females lack the white wing patch. This bird did show whitish
streaking on the anterior belly, particulary visible after it
bathed, so maybe it is a female as I'm not sure hatch year males
show this. Anyone more clear on this subject than I am? In any
event, I only viewed the bird through binoculars and, perhaps,
with a scope someone else might see more than I did. Oh, another
thing is males are noticeably larger than females. 
This
bird was clearly larger than all the others (including starlings),
but obviously a size comparison between known sexes wasn't possible.
One neat thing I had never noticed before is that the cloaca
is ringed in yellow. Very fancy!"
"After seeing the Yellow-headed Blackbird at the buffalo paddock I did a little research to satisfy my curiosity about whether or not I was sexing the bird correctly. As it turns out, size alone is enough to sex this species. According to Alvaro Jaramillo there is no overlap in size between the sexes. Females are similar in size to male Red-wingeds and Brewer's; males are noticeably larger. Additionally, the amount of white tipping on the primary coverts of the SF bird is typical of males, whereas females typically show very little but usually no white or whitish tips to the p-coverts. Al was not certain as to whether both sexes have a yellow ring around the vent. While examining specimens during research for the book he didn't note yellow-ringed vents on females. It is his belief that, at best, females show only a weak yellow vent-ring and that many or possibly most/all females may not have it. Interestingly, the Birds of North America states that both sexes have the yellow vent-ring, Pyle doesn't mention it at all, and Alvaro's book says males have it but doesn't mention anything about females. Another interesting tidbit about this species that I learned is that the sexes typically migrate separately from each other. I find this fact to be a good excuse for not remembering the size difference between the sexes! I've seen several migrant flocks over the years but failed to note size differences among the individuals present."
Italy
Here's a quick list of the some of
the birds that I managed to identify on a non-birding trip to
Italy. Birding on another continent is certainly a humbling experience.
North American common names are given in parentheses when it
differs from the European common name.
Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
Gray Heron Ardea cinerea
Mute Swan Cygnus olor
Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Kestrel (Eurasian Kestrel) Falco tinnunculus
Water Rail Rallus aquaticus
Moorheen (Common Moorhen) Gallinula chloropus
Coot (Eurasian Coot) Fulica atra
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus
Yellow-legged Gull Larus cachinnans
Rock Dove Coumba livia
Collared Dove (Eurasian Collared Dove) Streptopelia decaocto
Barn Owl Tyto alba
Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea
Robin Erithacus rubecula
Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos
Stonechat Saxicola torquata
Blackbird Turdus merula
Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta
Blackcap Sylvia nisoria
Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
Firecrest Regulus ignicapillus
Great Tit Parus major
Coal Tit Parus ater
Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
Magpie (Black-billed Magpie) Pica pica
Jackdaw Corbus monedula
Carrion Crow Corvus corone
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
Goldfinch (European Goldfinch) Carduelis carduelis
10.23, Tropical
Kingbird, Soccer Fields, Golden Gate Park, SF
I spent this morning reacquainting myself with birds
on my native continent (it seems odd being outside and not having
a ROBIN _erithacus rubecula_ singing its little heart out) and
made a few stops in the city this morning. At Mt. Davidson, there
was little of interest other than 8-9 BAND-TAILED PIGEONS and
a possible SPOTTED TOWHEE, though any sound-identified birds
should be viewed with some suspicion. :-|
Wading through the AIDS Walk, I worked my way around the Soccer Field in Golden Gate Park until I refound the TROPICAL KINGBIRD in the myoporum/pittisporum near the northwest corner of the field. The bird was shy and required some patience, but I finally managed to get decent looks of the bird as well as photograph it. The bird then flew towards the southwestern edge of the field and I could not relocate it.
"An obvious kingbird with a thick, large bill that was a significant fraction of the head width. Head gray with the nape slightly crested. Facial patch just slightly darker than the eye. Throat nearly pure white, contrasting strongly with the face. Breast and belly bright yellow, extending all the way to the undertail coverts."
"Back uniformly olive or olive gray, not contrasting strongly with the head. Wings dusky brown with prominent pale edging on the greater and median wing coverts as well as all of the flight feathers. Pale edging appeared pale yellow as opposed to buff. The pale edging was prominent enough on the tertials to almost give the impression of a pale region on the folded wing." "Tail was somewhat notched, though not as noticeable either in flight or perched as I might have expected. Vocalization was 'peet-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip-pip', repeated several times with short pauses in between and the 'peet' syllable slightly higher pitched that the 'pip' syllables."
Separation of TRKI from COUCH'S KINGBIRD is effectively impossible other than by voice; fortunately this individual did vocalize to confirm the identification. The coloration of the wings and the prominent pale edges suggest an immature bird; any idea whether the tail formula is different for younger birds?
10.29 [SFBirds] RE: this morning
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harry Fuller [mailto:Harry_Fuller@zd.com]
> Sent: Friday, October 29, 1999 11:11 AM
> To: Mark W. Eaton
> Cc: sfbirds@lists.best.com
> Subject: this morning
>
> there is a Mockingbird in winter residence between soccer
field and
> reconstructed windmill, unusual bird for Golden Gate Park.
>
There's a lot more than one here. I had probably
at least a half dozen this
weekend, including three in my field of view at one time. I
can't think of
a time when I've seen more in one place in SF than last weekend
at the
soccer field.
You can contact me via email.