Date: 10/27/24 5:10 pm From: Ian MacGregor <00000489141846bd-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Interesting Pipit at Charlie Craig
I forgot to say that the bird did not wag its tail at all.
Ian MacGregor Bella Vista
On Sun, Oct 27, 2024 at 6:50 PM, Ian MacGregor <[<ianmacg...>](mailto:On Sun, Oct 27, 2024 at 6:50 PM, Ian MacGregor <<a href=)> wrote:
> The pipit had a thick white eye ring which was very pronounced. Its size looked good for a Sprauge’s, but from the Nat Geo field guide the eye ring on Sprauge’s looks like it is paler than the rest of the face, not bold and white. However the thickness of the eye ring better matched Sprauge’s than American. The bill was yellow, more so than I am used to seeing on an American, but I think pale Americans can also have yellow bills. The back looked scaly which is suggestive of Sprauge’s, the face pattern to me looked more like Sprauge’s. The bird looked much less streaked on its underparts than an American. This is just an impression, I did not have the time to ascertain whether this or that part of the bird was steaked,
>
> I tried to get a picture immediately, but the bird flew just as I raised the camera. It did not sky, but landed in some “sweetgrass” and disappeared. I did not notice that it was obviously shorter-tailed than an American. The wing bars were fairly bold on the bird. I did not see more white in the tail, when I picked the bird up with my naked eye, I didn’t notice any white at all in the tail.
>
> I have never seen a Sprauge’s Pipit, but the general color of the bird looked to me more like Sprauge’s than a pale American, but perhaps there are American’s which the same overall coloration of a Sprauge’s.
>
> I tried to add the bird as Pipit sp., but eBird would not let me. I suppose that means the two species cannot be confused???!!!
>
> When I left the fish hatchery I was leaning towards Sprauge’s, but now I am thinking it was probably an American in a plumage of which I am unfamiliar,
>
> Ian MacGregor Bella Vista
