Posted by Roger Radd (209.54.114.71) on March 11, 2000 at 08:39:31:
Several factors support my original impression of Mountain Bluebird.
Despite discussion of angle etc, I beleive the primary extension is way too long for a WEBL. And I can discern at least 7 primaries beyond the secondaries. I also think this bird looks too long-legged for Western and I have always associated the 'big-eyed' look with MOBL not WEBL ( which shows how subjective that can be!). The coloring to me is all Mountain with very little Western - sky blue wings and rump. I admit the rusty wash on the scaps is unfamiliar, but it isn't strong override the rest for me, and could even be an artifact since it's the most brightly lit area of the photo.
The thrasher looks like a juv Curve-billed to me. The angle of the photo foreshortens the bill - which I think is too long. The background color of the breast seems too pale and the blotches too big. I'm open on this one though. As a footnote I would add I think previous records are not valid criteria for identifying birds. The hypothetical should never outweigh the empirical.