Last week our subject species was a bird of the desert southwest, Phainopepla, a great name that just rolls right off your tongue. They are a member of a small family, Silky-flycatchers, that are actually more closely related to waxwings than they are to the tyrant flycatchers. Of the family's four members, only the Phainopepla occurs in North America.For this week I present you a slightly different challenge by giving you two species to identify. The trick is to name the species (should have given them numbers, but we'll have to settle for left and right) and state 2 different field marks (I can name 3) that you used to make the identification.
Good luck and I hope the coming week brings you some great birds!
Hi Kevin,
I am going to make a SWAG that the right hand bird is a House Finch and the left hand bird is a Purple Finch, the white stripe behind the eye I think is the clue to Purple Finch.