tags: Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery birds] Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, photographed at Attwater Refuge, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Joseph Kennedy, 30 May 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/350s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
I'm going with juvenile cliff swallow, based on the nestling fluff and yellow gape (for the "juvenile" part); the "pale rump" (to narrow it down to cliff or cave swallow); and the "dark throat" and "dark auriculars" (to distinguish from the cave swallow) (quotes from Sibley).