Total Subsp.

Wash. Co. Records

VT Media Records

Richard Needs

Vermont Needs

BotW Systematics

Mine is the only or first record

A.c. carulescens, A.c. atlanticus

There is also a blue morph.

Blue morph exists.

Pale, grayish-brown belly contrasts sharply with black breast; white fringes on sides broaden from breast to flanks; dorsum distinctly brown; necklace often broken in front.

Similar to B. h. taverneri, but paler overall, virtually always lack a white collar, and averages slightly smaller, being the size of B. h. leucopareia (although with the head rounder, on average).

Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

Like B. c. interior, but brown mantle separated sharply from the black neck by a pale patch; breast markedly paler. Hybridizes with B. c. interior westward on the Ungava Peninsula of eastern Quebec (Palmer 1976).

Slightly larger than Bewick's: average mass of adult male Bewick's 6.3 kg (4.5-8.4) and adult females 5.6 kg (4.3-7.8; (Evans and Kear 1978) ); appearance differs principally in extent of yellow lore pattern.

One subspecies in Greenland. Otherwise, clinal.

1 American, 0 Eurasian

35p of both species

Eurasian ssp (VT), audio

Anas c. carolinensis males in breeding plumage characterized by a white vertical stripe below the breast.

Histrionicus histrionicus

Common Merganser (American)

Lateral feathering at bill base forms a straight line from the forehead to mandible; bill thickens from middle to base, with nostrils placed nearer to the center of the bill; nail forms small, usually indistinct hook; in the adult male, white forewing crossed by a black bar , forehead smooth with a gentle slope, no puff of feathers on nape, and bill scarlet; the female and immature average darker

Grouse, Quail, and Allies

Ring-necked Pheasant (Ring-necked), (Green)

Species (VT), subspecies

Not green on mantle and underparts (aka, not Green Pheasant)

Medium brown often mixed with grays; pronounced ventral barring and black markings of upperparts well developed.

Characterized by dark, rich coloration with rectrix tips varying from chocolate brown to rusty or deep cinnamon.

Not safely diagnosed in field.

Differences probably not discernable in field

Not safely diagnosed in field.

Not safely identifiable in field, due to domestic variation.

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) recognized name on eBird, to diffentiate from Rock Pigeon and Rock Pigeon (Wild Type)

Clinal. Not safe in field.

Coccyzus erythropthalmus

Probably not safe to describe in the field due to difficulty of lighting and observation.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Rails, Gallinules and Allies

Subspecies, photo

Couldn't find any information on field diagnostics.

How are these different, besides range?

Subspecies, photo

dorsum, including the wing coverts and secondaries, warmer brown (less blackish or dark olive) and tarsi uniformly yellow.

Subspecies identifiable by range; other ssp. resident in Andes

There is a White-shielded and Red-shielded morph. The Red is across N.Am, while White is restricted to the Caribbean. Note: Two records of WS on the east coast are probably false. I've emailed Ian and Zac about them.

Subspecies Audio, A. c. canadensis proof

A.c. canadensis in Vermont

Tabida/rowani the red cap extends straight posterior to the eye for some distance (2–4 cm) before angling upward, and the forehead is more sloped. Canadensis red crown angles sharply upward directly behind the eye; plumage generally a deep ash-gray; forehead rounded.

Largely tabida here, but may also be canadensis - seen in QC and NH.

Charadrius semipalmatus

Overall largest race; upperparts brown (less grayish); rufous edging on wing coverts only moderately extensive in Basic plumage.

Some counties don't have audio

Hard to distinguish not in hand.

Species (N. America)

Media, justified ssp.

Short-billed Dowitcher (griseus), S-b D (hendersoni)

Audio (species), photos (ssp)

Audio (species), photo (griseus)

In breeding (Alternate) plumage, L. g. griseus, which migrates mainly through e. North America, has pale-orangish underparts, and the color is restricted to the breast; belly mainly white; spotting dense, mainly on breast and upper breast; upperparts dark. Overall, griseus is slightly smaller and shorter-billed than other races. L. g. hendersoni, which migrates mainly through e. and central North America, is slightly larger and longer-billed; rusty color of the underparts darker and more extensive, extending to belly and undertail coverts, color matching that of the mud on which it feeds during later part of breeding season; ventral spotting sparser, and with more ventral barring than other races. Pale margins of dorsal feathers wider and buffier than in griseus, making impression of more golden dorsum.

White bars on rectrices broad; in fresh plumage, dorsal plumage dark olive and dorsal spots buffy white, heavier; loral streak solid

1 (same bird, 4 records)

bill relatively more stout than inornata; darker and browner overall, especially upperparts, being gray-brown above; Alternate plumage heavily marked with bars and spots and with tail usually prominently barred (but generally not reaching tail tip as on inornata); Basic plumage browner than inornata, with breast more solidly washed grayish brown.

The sound apparently differs. I don't know if this also counts for flight calls.

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Confusingly, no subspecies, but two listed in BotW

L.h.l sometimes considered L.h.h. May be hard to diagnose in field

In alternate plumage, underparts black or blackish gray; in basic and juvenile plumages, smudge at side of breast wider, darker , as well as pale streaks on dark crown; coloration similar on female and male.

Common Tern (hirundo/tibetana)

The dorsum is medium gray; the ventrum is pale gray; in breeding condition, the bill is extensively red with black tip, and the legs and feet are vivid red; the wing is relatively short and the bill relatively long (exposed culmen > 32 mm).

White-tailed Tropicbird (Atlantic)

If you see this bird, you've got other shit going on

Oceanodroma leucorhoa

Rump generally white, with a dark midline, although the proportion of individuals with the rump wholly dark increases southward in the eastern Pacific Ocean; large overall; wingtips pointed; tail notch shallower.

Cormorants and Anhingas

crest variably mixed white and black

Sides of head ochre; wing coverts creamy yellow should be enough to distinguish.

Very rare in Vermont. Never seen in Washington County, or Green Mountains in general.

when breeding, bill orangish yellow and culmen and tibia black.

Ssp., Species (US)

Media, Audio (species)

Plumes pinkish buff to orange buff, with chin to lower foreneck white; tibiae feathered to a great extent; small (mass light, bill short and thin, tarsus short).

Green Heron (virescens/bahamensis)

Black-crowned Night-Heron (American)

Like the nominate subspecies, but auriculars and sides of neck whiter, supercilium of narrower and whiter, and, in breeding condition, legs and feet salmon pink; also averages much larger in body size.

Vultures, Hawks, and Allies

Plumage not entirely black, and lacking white collar on the outer side of the neck.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Northern)

Gray to grayish blue above, crown darker; tail with alternating narrower dark and broader pale tail bands (outer rectrices of all races have dark bars narrower than pale bars; some velox have width of dark bars equal to pale bars; Storer 1952b); underparts white with conspicuous rufous or tawny bars, including tibial feathers; iris of adult orange to red.

A.g. atricapillus is distinguished by its broad supercilium and deep-red iris

Clinal subspecies, probably not distinguishable by voice

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Red-shouled Hawk (lineatus Group)

Dark, without fully red breast, among other features

feathers on crown, nape, and wing coverts narrowly edge with dull rufous; dorsum medium brown; ventral bars approximately even white and rufous; throat mostly unmarked white; thighs buff and moderately barred.

Red-tailed Hawk (borealis), (abieticola)

Abieticola not in BotW.

exhibit greater degree of polymorphism (extreme dark-morph birds apparently absent in Eurasian populations), and more variegated (pale mottled) dorsal plumage

Upperparts vary from pale orange-buff to lighter or darker gray mixed with orange-buff, underparts white to pale orange, spotted or vermiculated brown (similar to European birds but larger, with stronger legs and feet).

Eastern Screech-Owl (Northern)

Dorsal color cold gray; red morph common (approximately 39% of overall population; Marshall 1967:20); markings coarse and sparse; large (male wing > 154 mm); toes densely feathered; primary song with a terminal tremulous whinny.

B.v. hetereocnemus, B.v. virginianus

Great Horned Owl (Great Horned)

Audio, photo; also, identification down to the subspecies with notes!

Difficult. Feet black is B.v.v., while more gray in the coloring is likely Bv.h, which is also likely only here in winter. From Megallanic: long talons, long culmen, and the song is apparently different.

Take photos and audio!

Dorsum dark brown; crown extensively black with some white spotting; white of scapulars broken up by black or fuscous; ventral barring dense (i.e., the dark bars are wide); averages larger.

Lighter coloring (brown), with feet only feathered basally.

May be another lighter subspecies, S.v. albescens, described by Bishop in Quebec. Would be really fun to look at the recordings, too - there's a good write-up by Pieplow on the Cinereous Owl differences

Nominate North American nebulosa darker than Eurasian lapponica ; gray streaks on upperparts less distinctly defined and pale sides of feathers more extensively barred gray (Cramp 1985a). Oberholser in Voous (Voous 1988b) compares North American nebulosa to lapponica as follows: minutely, but distinctively, barred on the underparts rather than almost exclusively longitudinally streaked; dark marmorations above and a less prominent white loral crescent and superciliary line.

Race canariensis darker than nominate; wilsonianus also darker, with more prominent barring below, rufous facial disc, yellow irides; tuftsi similar but not so dark.

Audio, species WA

Compared to domingensis, wing longer (>300mm), tarsus shorter (<50mm), bill relatively smaller, upper back (between and anterior to scapulars) mostly tawny with dark brown central stripe, uppertail coverts tawny yellow, underparts less buffy (pale tawny to whitish) with streaking extending well down underparts, including on and around knee joints, toes densely feathered (Hoffman et al. 1999).

Species in last 20 years, Subspecies, species audio

Hard to tell apart physically. May just be location - only one subspecies in N.Am.

Wild photo (WA), subspecies

A trip to Haida Gwaii?

The white underparts and spots on the remiges and wing coverts of acadicus are not infused with buff.

The only other subspecies is in Haida Gwaii, with no media or audio.

Subspecies probably not warranted.

Melanerpes erythrocephalus

White spots on wing coverts large; ventrum and pale areas of head white; barring on outer rectrices reduced

1, possibly D.v.s. on some years

Super tough; but generally, white underneath with pale areas on dorsum best marker. Lack of buffyness, large white spots.

Sept. possible; larger, whiter.

Bill size, best done in hand.

Colaptes auratus auratus/luteus

Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)

Yellow feathers. Probably only safely diagnosed by sight. Cheeks and throat tan, contrasting with gray crown and nape; wings pointed; on the male, malar black and nape crescent red.

Red-shafted noted once in Massachusetts. Possibly identifiable by voice: research needed on this. It's possible that auratus/luteus can be identified further, but not necessary on eBird.

Audio, WA photo

Paulus description, the southern one to be distinguished: Small, with relatively large beak (and head in general); wing length of 15 males 165–180 mm (mean 171.3 mm) and 13 females 175–186 mm (mean 179 mm) reported by Friedmann (Friedmann 1950a). Adult males, especially in s. Florida, tend to have underparts sparsely marked, spots absent or confined to sides, leaving belly and breast immaculate, but highly variable, especially in north (JAS). Anterior extent of dorsal barring on juvenile male averages less than on nominate sparverius (about 60% of distance from rump to nape) but amount of barring also more variable than nominate sparverius

Overall grayer than suckleyi, and paler on breast and belly. Adult male: cere and orbital skin medium yellow; faint dark malar mark; pale supercilium and cheeks; medium bluish gray upperparts; breast and belly streaked with brown, barred on the flanks; lightly streaked rufous-tawny leg feathers; tail black with 2-3 narrow bluish-gray bands; white or tawny underparts, moderately streaked with brown; moderately dark underwings, spotted white (about 50% of surface). Adult female: overall browner than male, e.g., medium brown crown and auriculars, back, wings; belly uniformly tawny or white with pronounced brown streaking; dark brown primaries typically with pale tawny spots; upper tail variously banded (2-3) or not, depending on individual; ventral tail 3-4 pale bands when tail is fanned. Juvenile: much like adult female but juvenile males separable by smaller size and grayish dorsal tail bands; juvenile females separable only in late summer/fall by lack of molt.

Peregrine Falcon (North American)

Bonaparte, 1838. Averages larger and darker, with broadest dark moustachial, adult has blackish head, broad dark moustachial and small white cheeks, and juvenile is dark brown above and is heavily streaked and blotched below.

Possible that tundra speices is here, too.

Tyrant Flycatchers: Pewees, Kingbirds, and Allies

Yes, audio, photo

Yes, audio, photo

Empidonax flaviventris

Yes, audio, photo

Yes, audio, photo

Darker, less greenish, and more brownish (back and crown) than campestris; greener above than brewsteri; much darker above than extimus and adastus; extensive overlap with campestris in wing morphology

Note that it is hard to tell this from Alder Fl. anyway.

I have the only audio in Vermont

Bill averages wider and deeper (more swollen), upper mandible with more extensive pale area, body size larger, upperparts duller and grayer (including crown, which differs only slightly from back), completes Prebasic molt on breeding grounds

Time for Washington Co. needs?

Probable duller in Oregonian subsp.

Many. Consult Birds of the World. Location easily enough to know that it is American, initially.

No longer breeding or present in Vermont.

Jays, Magpies, Crows and Ravens

Dorsum deep blue, white markings on remiges and rectrices extensive

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Not safely identifiable in field.

iNat referes to subsp as 'Eastern Crow'

Not safely identifiable in field.

Tits, Chickadees and Titmice

Smaller,browner than hudsonicus.

Horned Lark (Eastern dark Group

E.a. alpestris has a sepia brown dorsum, spectrum yellow, throat, and eyebrow stripe, and white belly.

Should be here in the summer, but so rarely seen. Should look for. Also, very clear to see the yellow throat - readily identifiable in the field.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Northern)

Lacking dull whitish spot above the anterior portion of the lores; dull to creamy white undertailc overts; pale grayish brown upperparts, breast, and flanks; shallow tail fork.

Purple Martin (subis/arboricola)

I don't think this can be diagnosed in the field. I don't know why there are two groupings.

Darker than other ssp. Difficult to diagnose in field.

1 (Not identified adequately to ssp)

Salient feature is chestnut ventrum. Like Buff-bellied, the breast band is narrower and often broken, the tail is shorter, and the red throat patch is approximately twice as large in size.

Can be determined by audio, apparently.

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Cliff Swallow (pyrrhonota Group)

White or pale buff forehead is enough to distinguish from melanogaster subspecies. To distinguish from other subspecies in the group, throat and cheeks should be dark chestnut.

This is an interesting example of how to disambiguate. Do you disambiguate the grouping, or do you try to identify the subspecies?

White supercilium short, extending to middle of auriculars and black lateral crown stripes; dorsum grayish green; cheeks and sides of neck head buffy olive; ventrum grayish white; wing bars and secondary edges contrast strongly with base color; body size moderate (male wing chord < 56 mm), the bill short and "rather stubby"

Bill stout, blunt; ventrum white; dorsum pale blue-gray. "yenk" sound.