December mysteries

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Posted by Bruce Deuel (208.186.39.113) on December 08, 2000 at 12:10:09:

I agree with Ryan that there are buffy spots on the primaries of the nighthawk, but the only references I have with me at the moment don't show the upper surface of the primaries of Common Nighthawk. What intrigues me is the white spots. If I follow out to the tip of the lowest, and presumed outermost, primary with a white spot, that primary appears to be longer than the others, ergo, Common Nighthawk! I, too, believe the Tringa is a yellowlegs, but I measured the bill vs head and the former is only slightly longer. It appears quite straight to me, so I think this is a Lesser Yellowlegs, though I've seen birds like this in the field that turned out to be the same size as all the more obvious Greaters, so it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be that. How's that for waffling?

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: I agree with Ryan that there are buffy spots on the primaries of the nighthawk, but the only references I have with me at the moment don't show the upper surface of the primaries of Common Nighthawk. What intrigues me is the white spots. If I follow out to the tip of the lowest, and presumed outermost, primary with a white spot, that primary appears to be longer than the others, ergo, Common Nighthawk! I, too, believe the Tringa is a yellowlegs, but I measured the bill vs head and the former is only slightly longer. It appears quite straight to me, so I think this is a Lesser Yellowlegs, though I've seen birds like this in the field that turned out to be the same size as all the more obvious Greaters, so it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be that. How's that for waffling?

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