Birding and Bird Identification

Being raised in the Church of Christ, I am quite familiar with going back to chapter and verse to prove a point. As a group we have moved from legalism toward grace, and so these arguments occur less.

However, it was interesting this week to watch the birding world's version of legalism:

I joined Texbirds this week. I get email throughout the day as to bird counts, bird sightings and other Texas birding news. I've even posted a couple of birds that I've seen in my yard for identification.

On Wednesday Fernando posted a bird on his website for us to identify. Since I'm familiar with a bird similar to this, I sent him an email saying I thought it was a western kingbird. He was kind of enough to post a tally of the identifications he received:

14 votes for Brown-crested Flycatcher
12 votes for Great-crested Flycatcher
4 votes for Ash-throated Flycatcher
3 votes for Western Flycatcher

I've looked through 3 of my bird identification books since then comparing these birds. (I've got a few more I can use . . . . it has aroused my curiosity - I WOULD like to know which bird this is and why.) If it is truly a crested variety, then its crest is not up . . . . . Many birds you make an id based on where you saw the bird. If I was out in West Texas or New Mexico - flat prairie - it would be a no brainer - Western Kingbird. However, if the shot was taken in a forested or thicket area then it could be the Great-crested Flycatcher.

So even though it is a great bird shot . . . .the birders can't agree on the identification . . . .

Since one of my good friends debates with me on identification of birds we see, I am going to say that I think humans like to debate over small details. And in birds most of the time it HAS to be one species . . . but that does not count the birds that can interbreed and have hybrids making identification MUCH more difficult. It also does not take into consideration that juvenile birds also look different - making identification harder. One set of birds that I posted for identification turned out to be juvenile starlings - they don't look anything like the adult version! I also find that some of the sparrows and finches look so much alike that it is hard for me to tell who is who at my bird feeder. Sometimes I find that I want to know which sparrow I'm looking at. Other times I am content to enjoy the constant coming and going from the feeder. Sometimes life is too short to debate over the small things. (Does that mean I'll never be a "true" birder?)