Eastern Wood Pewee

[Tommy]

Photo posting first trial



         

Photo taken April 17, 2006 at G Ross Lord Park.
Early for the specie :?:  :?:

         

[Anonymous]

I'm a relatively new birder and I wonder if you would be kind enough to let me know how you know this is peewee rather than a phoebe?  The shape seems a little different maybe but I would appreciate your input.  I've been seeing what I thought were phoebes and now I'm questioning my id.

Thanks.

[Tommy]

Good question :!:
I firstly thought that it is either an Eastern Phoebe or an Olive-sided Flycatcher, it matched closely to the pictures of my Audubon Field guide with these two species :?:
I posted it on an ID help forum and they told me it is an Eastern Wood Pewee which I have agreed . I think it is the profile, the crest on the head and the wings that tell them apart.

See for yourself :shock: . Here are links of some photos:
 :arrow: Eastern Phoebe: http://www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/pool/tags/EasternPhoebe
 :arrow: Olive-sided Flycatcher: http://www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/pool/tags/OlivesidedFlycatcher
 :arrow: Eastern Wood Pewee: http://www.flickr.com/groups/birdguide/pool/tags/EasternWoodPewee

 :wink:

[momofjbsl]

Yes, I can see that the profile is different so I'll just do double checks re the crest and wings.  I do think that the birds I've seen so far are phoebes - based on this discussion.

Many thanks.

[Brian Bailey]

Nice photo, but I'm not so sure about the ID. It can be difficult to separate two very similar species based on a single photo, but there are several reasons I would say Eastern Phoebe:

Timing - Eastern Phoebes have been back for a few weeks, but this would be very early for a Pewee.

Bill - Eastern Wood-pewees have a pale lower mandible.  It should be visible in this lighting.

Wings - The wings are probably in partial shadow, but I think the you would still see more distinct wing bars in a Pewee.

Things you can't tell from a photo - This bird was obviously caught making some sound.  If it was actually singing (versus a call note), the songs are quite different.  Finally, the quickest way to separate them in the field is often the tail-bobbing of the Phoebe.  If you watch a Phoebe for 30 seconds, you will probably see him (or her) bob his (or her) tail at least once.  Pewees don't.

You can't always tell from a photo, but that's my guess.

BB

[Napper]

I know this should be asked in  a different section but.....  but...... how were you able to post the image?

I noticed earlier that there was a link only.....

now magically the image appears??.


Napper :lol:

[Tommy]

Brian,
Thanks for your comment.
I too think it is more likely to be a Eastern Phoebe because my field guide states that there should be 2 whitish wing bars for Pewee which I don’t see. Its also doesn’t look anything like the Pewee in my field guide. But as I remember and also from my series of nine photos its tail is always hanging down and not wagging.
The reasons that I posted it on the flickr’s ID forum is because I think that this one is a little different from the other Phoebes I saw and it more resemble an Olive-sided flycatcher in my field guide but without the dark feather below the lower back. Then they said it’s a Pewee!! Very confusing :!:  :!:  :roll:


Napper,
This is the beauty of the new forum :idea: . When you post a thread, you can see all the aids, like the emoticons on the left and the small rectangle box and the colour fonts etc on top.
If you want to post a photo, you have to post it first to a photo storage site. I use photobucket.com myself and it’s free. Then you click the IMG rectangle and paste the link to where the photo is stored, like http://.........jpg, and then click the IMG again. As long as you don’t check ‘Disable HTML in this post’, people can see your photos. Very simple and you can’t do this with the old forum :!:

[Napper]

I guess I should have opened my eyes.. I see the img box now

lets giver a try, nothing new just a test...........

   



thanx again Napper  :lol:  :lol: