What does a Vireo bird look like?

What does a yellow-spectacled bird look like?

From the depths of a thicket, a yellow-spectacled bird peers through, its white eye gleaming and its yellow sides shining. It forages in the understory often out of sight, but sings nearly all day to let you know it’s there.

What is the difference between two subspecies of the vireo?

Two subspecies groups differ in overall plumage color and differ slightly in voice, but identification in the field would be a challenge. Hutton’s Vireo (Pacific) – Vireo huttoni huttonigroup Hutton’s Vireo (Mexican) – Vireo huttoni stephensigroup Warbling Vireo– Vireo gilvus

What does a speculum bird look like?

Speculum is blue-green bordered with black and fine white bars. Bill is bright yellow; legs and feet are orange. Least Grebe: Smallest of North America’s grebes. Eyes dark yellow , plumage is dark black-gray, white undertail coverts and white wing patch in flight. Black bill. In winter shows pale throat, in summer a dark throat.

How can you tell the difference between Bell’s vireo and Virei bellii?

Bell’s Vireo– Vireo bellii Two subspecies groups appear to be reliably distinguished by plumage, shape, and behavior. Bell’s Vireo (Eastern) – Vireo bellii bellii Bell’s Vireo (Southwestern) – Vireo bellii pusillusgroup

What is the color of speculum?

Speculum is blue-green bordered with black and fine white bars. Bill is bright yellow; legs and feet are orange. Least Grebe: Smallest of North America’s grebes.

What kind of duck has a purple speculum?

American Black Duck: Stocky, medium-sized dabbling duck with dark brown body, paler face and foreneck, and purple speculum bordered with black. Head is finely streaked; dark eyestripe is distinct.

Are there two different types of warbling vireos?

Two subspecies groups differ on average in plumage, size, song, and DNA, and have often been discussed as potential species; but reliability of differences still has not been established and the possibility of identification in the field needs more study. Warbling Vireo (Eastern) – Vireo gilvus gilvus

What does it mean when a bird has a speculum?

It is often seen as a bright patch of color on the rear of the wing when the wing is spread during flight or when the bird is stretching, preening, or landing. The color of the speculum will vary by species, as will its width and any non-iridescent borders.

What does the Speculum look like on a chicken?

The color of the speculum will vary by species, as will its width and any non-iridescent borders. The speculum may be just a color patch on the wing feathers, but it is very distinctive. The size and color of the speculum varies between species, and any borders that frame the patch can also vary.

What color is the speculum on a duck?

The speculum feathers are bright blue with white edges. The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers, or remiges, of some birds. Examples of the colour(s) of the speculum in a number of ducks are: Common teal and green-winged teal: Iridescent green edged with buff.

What kind of bird has a bright wing speculum?

Yellow-billed duck: Iridescent green or blue, bordered white. Bright wing speculums are also known from a number of other birds; among them are several parrots from the genus Amazona with red or orange speculums, though in this case the colors are pigmentary and non-iridescent. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Speculum feathers.

What is an example of a speculum in a duck?

Examples of the colour (s) of the speculum in a number of ducks are: Common teal and green-winged teal: Iridescent green edged with buff. Blue-winged teal: Iridescent green. The species’ common name comes from the sky-blue wing coverts. Crested duck and bronze-winged duck: Iridescent purple-bronze, edged white.

How do you identify a duck wing speculum?

Because this part of a duck’s wing can be so distinctive, the speculum is useful for identifying ducks. To use the speculum for bird identification, note: The color of the speculum in bright sunlight or color changes in different light qualities. The color and thickness of any borders to the speculum area.

What are the different colors of speculum?

Mallard: bright blue-purple speculum with a black border all around and white borders on the upper and lower edges Green-Winged Teal: half black and half green speculum, with white bordering the top of the black section Spectacled Duck: broad crimson-red speculum with thick black border all around and thin white border on the top and bottom

What is the speculum on a bird’s wing?

It is often seen as a bright patch of color on the rear of the wing when the wing is spread during flight or when the bird is stretching, preening, or landing. The color of the speculum will vary by species, as will its width and any non-iridescent borders. The speculum may be just a color patch on the wing feathers, but it is very distinctive.

What is a speculum?

The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers, or remiges, of some birds.

What does a small dabbling duck look like?

Garganey: This small dabbling duck has black-streaked, gray upperparts, chestnut-brown mottled face and breast, pale gray flanks, and a white stripe above the eye that runs down the neck. The wings have pale blue shoulder patches and a dark green speculum with white borders visible in flight.

What are scapulars in ducks?

Scapulars: These are the shoulder feathers of the bird that fill in the interior of the wing behind the patagium but in front of the speculum. In many ducks this can be colorful, but it is not usually iridescent and lacks the distinct, bordered appearance of the speculum.

Is there a septum on a bird?

There is typically a septum made of bone or cartilage that separates the two nares, but in some families (including gulls, cranes and New World vultures), the septum is missing. While the nares are uncovered in most species, they are covered with feathers in a few groups of birds, including grouse and ptarmigans, crows and some woodpeckers.

What is a speculum in birds?

Contrast: speculum. Also, wing trimming. The controversial practice of trimming a bird’s primary wing feathers or remiges so that it is not fully flight-capable, until it grows replacement feathers during its next moult. If it is performed correctly, it is a painless procedure.

How do you identify a duck with a speculum?

Because this part of a duck’s wing can be so distinctive, the speculum is useful for identifying ducks. To use the speculum for bird identification, note: The speculum will not always be visible, but when it can be seen, it can be a diagnostic field mark for many duck species.

Can you identify a duck by its wing feathers?

The US Fish & Wildlife Service has created a series of videos on duck identification using wing feathers. The following video is the first in the series, and shows you how to tell a female “hen” mallard from a male “drake” mallard that doesn’t have its bright breeding plumage (i.e., hasn’t “colored up”) yet, just by looking at their wings.

What color is Mallard Speculum?

Mallard: bright blue-purple speculum with a black border all around and white borders on the upper and lower edges. Green-Winged Teal: half black and half green speculum, with white bordering the top of the black section.

What is a speculum on a duck wing?

The speculum is a patch of often iridescent color on the secondary wing feathers of most duck species. It is often seen as a bright patch of color on the rear of the wing when the wing is spread during flight or when the bird is stretching, preening, or landing.

What is the difference between rump and scapular?

A distinctive group of feathers that cover the upper back and are flanked by the scapular feathers. Scapulars: Feathers that cover the base of the wing. Scapulars flank the mantle and generally cover the bend of the wing. Rump: Refers to the area below the mantle down to the uppertail coverts.

Why don’t birds have scapula?

Scapula: The scapula (shoulder blade) of birds is proportionally much smaller and flatter than that of most mammals. This means that the space for muscle attachments is limited, as is the leverage that these muscles can produce. Birds don’t have large back muscles.