tags: Greater Sage-Grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
Here is a feather pic from a [Mystery bird] Male Greater Sage-Grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, for the mystery bird quiz, along with a map (below the fold) from Google Earth showing where it was collected (East Canyon Road SW of Henefer, Utah, 40.95N, 111.55W, elevation 6200 ft or 1890 meters) [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Dave Rintoul, feather collected on 10 April 2005 [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
East Canyon Road SW of Henefer, Utah, 40.95N, 111.55W, elevation 6200 ft or 1890 meters [larger view].
The photographer writes;
The date of collection of that feather might also be useful. It was 4/10/2005. I'll attach a picture of the entire bird as well, so that you can use it when you reveal the answer. You readers can see that this greater sage grouse lek was in the middle of a paved road, which made mortality common and feather collection quite simple...
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I'm getting a gallinaceous feel from this. I'm thinking it's a tail feather from either a Ring-necked Pheasant or a Greater Sage-Grouse, with the coloring seeming closer to the Sage-Grouse (because I would expect a pheasant feather to be buffier, not dark gray, like this feather).
I suppose it's also possible that it's a feather from some sort of Asian jungle fowl that fell out of someone's hat, or something. But in the spirit of the game, I'm sticking with my guess of Greater Sage-Grouse.
Hopefully someone at a museum with a collection of study skins will be in a position to shed some light.
It's not from Orpheus.
I was going to say pheasant, too, just because of the similarity to Ring-Necked tail feathers I've seen out here. Will be interesting to find out the answer.
Definitely not a male Ring-necked Pheasant tail feather, and although I'm not as familiar with a female, I too think it would be too dark for that.
Looking closer at that location on Google Earth, there's some nice sagebrush habitat on the east side of the highway. For that reason (and because I have no earthly idea what it could be otherwise!!!), I too will vote for Greater Sage Grouse.
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh!!!
http://www.lab.fws.gov/featheratlas/feather.php?Bird=GRSG_tail_male2
Thought I'd pass this on....
http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/wri/1029536894.html
I agree, it looks to me like a Greater Sage Grouse feather. Long and acutely pointed, black and white barring pattern.
BN
some kind of nightjar?
Definately looks like a Greater Sage Grouse tail feather to me.
It's a tail feather from a Sage Grouse. I happen to have one that looks just like it.
Yeah. And if you Google for Dave Rintoul, a few clicks gets you to a page describing his sabbatical in Utah in the spring of 2005, including a page of bird photos that includes a beautiful shot of a certain bird displaying at the Hanefer Lek on the date in question.
Which would be cheating, according to the rules I personally follow when playing the game, so I made my original guess before I went looking. And hopefully it's cool to post those links now that people have had a chance.