October 03, 2004
Enigmatic Empids
Here are some pictures of Empids seen on Point Reyes on Saturday: click on the thumbnails for larger images.
Here's the adult Yellow-bellied Flycatcher found by the Terrills at the Fish Docks:
The following three photos of this bird were taken by Marcel Holyoak:
This bird at Drake's Beach was initially identified as an immature Yellow-bellied Flycatcher: it appeared to have a narrow eye-ring, a yellow belly, bright buff wingbars and contrasting edges to the flight feathers, all supportive of Yellow-bellied. However, several Pacific-slope Flycatchers observed later in the day showed similarly bold markings, and from certain angles, the eye-ring was distinctly almond-shaped. Note how the plumage tones, and size and shape of the eye ring vary from different angles and lighting conditions.
For comparison, here's another boldly-marked Pacific-slope photographed at the Abandoned Ranch. This one was much easier to identify, as it was very vocal! Again note how bright and contrasty the wing barring is, a feature that supposedly points towards Yellow-bellied...
And finally, here's a much less controversial bird, a smart Least Flycatcher, also seen at the Abandoned Ranch.
