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Identification of this bird has to have a question mark, as I didn't see it pump its tail (the diagnostic behavior) or hear it vocalize. I got exactly one hasty and distant image of it before it flew away, at the west end of Stampede Reservoir north of Lake Tahoe in the Sierras. I was with an experienced local birder, Dick Carlson, who thought it was likely to be either a Hammond's or a Dusky based on the place and the vocalizations he had heard there. But the photo rules out Hammond's, and the features are more consistent with Gray than with Dusky; Gray is also possible at that location. Note the combination of generally gray plumage, short primary extension, mid-length bill (too long for Hammond's), fairly faint eyering, and lower mandible mostly yellow with a dark tip; experts viewing the picture have all thought it was likely a Gray Flycatcher. |
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