Mystery Bird: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor

grrlscientist — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 07:59:04 +0000

tags: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz

~~[Mystery bird]~~ Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, photographed at Lake Thompson in Kingsbury County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]

Image: Terry Sohl, 2 May 2009 [larger view]

Photo taken with a Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

grrlscientist Sun, 06/14/2009 - 03:59

Mystery Bird: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor

grrlscientist — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 07:59:31 +0000

Mystery Bird: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor

tags: Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz

~~[Mystery birds]~~ Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, photographed at Anahuac Refuge, Texas. Are they all the same species? [I will identify these birds for you tomorrow]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 1 May 2009 [larger view].

Nikon D200 ,Kowa 883 telescope with TSN-PZ camera eyepiece 1/320s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400.

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Review all mystery birds to date.

grrlscientist Mon, 06/08/2009 - 03:59

Tags

Tree Swallow - dark blue top with white underneath. Long, pointed wings that end even with the tail.

Yeah, I can't see anything here that I can convince myself is anything other than a tree swallow. The more colorful ones look like adults; the drabber ones like juveniles.

There's something about the picture that's asking for a caption. I think the one looking at the camera is saying "We're not African or European".

There's something about the picture that's asking for a caption.

The bird looking at the camera is saying, "Oh hi! Just hangin with my peeps."

Tree Swallows on a cloudy day. They have bluish top (wings/back) and white underside (belly/chin); forked tail. If the sun was shining, it would reflect the telltale shimmering blue color of the mature adults...

this photograph was snapped on 1 May -- the birds are probably migrating through texas to their final destinations. so i don't think any of the birds in that pic are fledglings, but they can be either (1) female or (2) last year's young -- do you have any thoughts about which situation you are seeing here?

As one who used to band Tree Swallows, I can answer your questions. Since Devorah has indicated the picture was taken on May 1, these birds are on their northward migration. The bird looking at the camera is a Second Year (SY) female, meaning she was hatched last year and is entering her first breeding season. She will have a dull grayish plumage until her next molt, although many SY females do have a few blue or greenish-blue feathers.