Is this one long-billed, bigger bird a Dowitcher? Is there any way to tell if it is Short-billed or Long-billed? I did not hear it vocalize. Who are its buddies?
Paul Sullivan replies:
These are Sanderlings, with white underparts and the black mark at the bend of the wing. They lack a hind toe. There is one Long-billed Dowitcher.
In the future, I will know to look for the black mark at the bend of the wing. Many thanks to Paul Sullivan!
Again, I agree with Sanderling. Not so sure about the dowitcher, though. Bill length and shape suggest a Short-billed Dowitcher (although those marks can be very subjective). The best way to tell juvenile LBDO and SBDO apart is by the pattern on the tertials (the long feathers near the end of the bird that cover the primaries). Long-billed has plain gray, unpatterned tertials with a narrow rufous edge; the tertials of Short-billed show a rufous or buffy "tiger'stripe" pattern. Your photo is very blurry and the angle is less than ideal, but I do believe I can see some rufous patterning in the tertials, which would make this a Short-billed Dowitcher. Would like to hear what others think.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hendrik, for explaining the difference between long-billed and short-billed. I have always just gone by voice. But, since my photos are not very helpful for a definite id, I'll list it as Dowitcher sp.
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