Hello Steve. Thank you for taking the time to comment. It wasn't clear which specie of Tanager you were referring to. I am not skilled in the technical identification of some species so I referred the issue to my "expert". This is what he said .....
"I can see what he means about the bill shape, particularly that it doesn't look quite as dagger-sharp as icterid bills usually are. But the tail is yellow - correct for female Orchard Oriole, while both Scarlet and Western Tanagers have black or blackish-green tails. So those two can be counted out. Summer Tanager does have a yellow tail - but no wingbars, and a massive bill, so it's not that either. The bill curvature is also OK for O.O., which has a more curved bill than other icterids. So I'd agree with it being Orchard Oriole."
Discussions and observations like this are always healthy and educational to all parties. Thanks, again, for your input.
Regards,
Charlie
Steve
26-Mar-2014 02:19
Hi Charles! Beautiful photos. I stumbled across this photo on the web. I think you may have a photo of a female tanager here. The bill shape looks more tanager to me versus oriole. Look especially at the upper mandible's thickness and curvature and see if you see the same thing. The wing bars make it sort of confusing, but from the photos I'm finding on the web, there seems to be variation in their presence/absence in tanagers. --Respectfully, Steve
