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Tucson Birder
Active member
The bill looks fairly heavy and hooked, so I'm leaning toward Brown-crested.
Here are two photos for you to compare to yours. The bird next to the utility pole is a Brown-crested.
Did you hear any vocalizations at all? That is often the most simple/reliable way to distinguish the two. My nmemonic for Brown-crested is an emphatic series: "What, what, what, beer, beer, where is it? where is it?" (the first part is more like wut! wut!, wut!). Ash-throated gives pips and a more anemic call that some people describe as a police whistle- my mnemonic is "pt-weer!"
It's clearly in a mesquite tree, but can you give any more details on the location? It's not definitive, because there is a broad overlap in habitat, but Brown-crested tends to be in bigger washes or canyon bottoms, while ash-throated is more likely to in sparser vegetation.
Other id features that aren't as easy to see in this pic, typically there is more contrast on the front in Brown-crested, with slightly brighter/yellower underparts. I've never used the tail pattern but Ash-throated apparently has darker tail tips.
Here are two photos for you to compare to yours. The bird next to the utility pole is a Brown-crested.
Did you hear any vocalizations at all? That is often the most simple/reliable way to distinguish the two. My nmemonic for Brown-crested is an emphatic series: "What, what, what, beer, beer, where is it? where is it?" (the first part is more like wut! wut!, wut!). Ash-throated gives pips and a more anemic call that some people describe as a police whistle- my mnemonic is "pt-weer!"
It's clearly in a mesquite tree, but can you give any more details on the location? It's not definitive, because there is a broad overlap in habitat, but Brown-crested tends to be in bigger washes or canyon bottoms, while ash-throated is more likely to in sparser vegetation.
Other id features that aren't as easy to see in this pic, typically there is more contrast on the front in Brown-crested, with slightly brighter/yellower underparts. I've never used the tail pattern but Ash-throated apparently has darker tail tips.
