August 2002 Mystery Bird

This dowitcher was photographed 27 July 2002 in San Diego, California. I admit to being thoroughly confused by the characters of this dowitcher, but have been advised by Al Jaramillo (who knows more about dowitchers than I do about almost any subject) that it is a first summer Short-billed Dowitcher. Many shorebirds have a first alternate plumage in which some of the new feathers are basic-like, and dowitchers are apparently no exception. The pattern on the underparts here includes white on the basal portions of many of these feathers. This pattern is apparently not found on Long-billed Dowitchers in similar plumage. Another clue is the relatively long primary projection which is characteristic of the West Coast subspecies of Short-billed Dowitcher L. g. caurinus. The somewhat curved bill-shape is suggestive of Long-billed, but can apparently be found on a minority of Short-bills, especially females.

A key source for further information is "The identification and migration of breeding plumaged dowitchers in southern Ontario," by Jaramillo, Pittaway, and Burke. (Birder's Journal 1:8-25, Oct. 1991). A useful online summary by Greg Gillson is here.

To view public comments or join the fray by adding your opinion, click here. Have fun!

Color perception has been a chronic problem in assessing photographic images on the web. This problem is compounded by the wide variety of hardware and software used to view these images. Please adjust your video to the highest possible number of colors. My logs show that over 25% of visitors view these pages with only 256 colors (8 bit). Sixteen bit (high color) is minimum and 24 bit (true color) desirable. Also you may wish to calibrate your monitor against a color standard and ensure that brightness and contrast are set correctly.

[Home] [California Birding] [More Mystery Birds]