Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

All things winged.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Hunter-MX
Posts: 183
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Location: Guerrero, Mexico
Contact:

Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Hunter-MX »

These are from Southern Mexico. Shorebirds are arriving in droves and I just don't have a guide for them. Help would be so very appreciated!

1.
Image

Terns...

2.
Image

more terns, I think these are two or three different types

3.
Image

The gull, not the willet

4.
Image

5.
Image

Thanks!
User avatar
nightdriver
Posts: 427
Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:34 pm
Location: Los Angeles County

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by nightdriver »

I'll throw out some guesses

1. L to R
Cayenne Tern
Royal Tern(possibly Elegant)
Forester's Tern

2.L to R
Elegant Tern
Cayenne Tern
Can't really see the rear bird.

3 Laughing Gull

4. Wilson's Plover
But it's hard to tell the size.

5. Sanderling


Everyon's welcome to disagree :thumb:

-nightdriver
User avatar
Hunter-MX
Posts: 183
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Location: Guerrero, Mexico
Contact:

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Hunter-MX »

#4 is a decent size bird. Smaller then a willet.

The sanderlings are tiny.

I lean towards elegant on the tern, but obviously I don't know for sure.

Thanks! Anybody else? Pete? Chris?
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Andy Avram »

Picture 1, left to right.
Elegant Tern (this is sometimes lumped/split with Cayenne Tern) – long narrow, orangish bill
Royal Tern – stouter bright orange-red bill (only other possibility is Caspian, but the bill color is wrong and not enough black on the cap)
Common Tern – black mark on the wrist (looks like the shoulder) with a cap that starts light near the eyes and darkens towards the back

Picture 2.
The two front birds are the Elegant Terns, but if you follow the split I have no idea and will default to nightdriver.

Picture 3.
I agree that it is a Laughing Gull. And just because you tempted with shorebirds and then threw in a bunch of larids, I will agree with you on Willet!

Picture 4.
This is not a Charadrius plover (eliminating Wilson’s), but one of the Pluvialis plovers (Black-bellied and various Golden Plovers). You can see the barring on the tail and mottled/speckled sides, which is typical of the genus. If I’d have to take a guess I would lean towards the American Golden-Plover.

Picture 5.
I agree with nightdriver, they are Sanderlings.

Andy
User avatar
Hunter-MX
Posts: 183
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Location: Guerrero, Mexico
Contact:

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Hunter-MX »

Very helpful Andy. The reason I thought the front two birds in #2 are different is the very different nostril area. One has a deep groove, the other no.

After reviewing the photos from yesterday, I realize I have yet another tern species. Very different head pattern.

Image

I think it is very interesting the way these all flock together.
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Andy Avram »

That last one is the Forster's. That have the mask in winter.
The reason I thought the front two birds in #2 are different is the very different nostril area. One has a deep groove, the other no.
Good point. To be honest I never heard of Cheyenne Tern before this post, but in the AOU they don't split them out from Elegant (unless the AOU website hasn't been updated). I suppose even still they would be different subspecies in the least and may account for the different bill appearances. I would defer to someone who is more familiar with that/those species south of the US than me.

I am lucky to see that much tern diversity in a year. Typically Common, Forster's and Caspian and I am done.
User avatar
chrish
Posts: 3295
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:14 pm
Location: San Antonio, TX
Contact:

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by chrish »

Cayenne Tern is not a subspecies of Elegant Tern, it is a subspecies of Sandwich Tern or maybe a valid species of its own.
This is a Cayenne Tern. It is a smaller species with a slenderer bill. Yours are Elegant Terns.

Image

As for the plover, hard to be sure but you might have to consider Pacific Golden Plover as well. I'm not sure of their winter range. Although, when I see a Pluvialis plover on the coast like that my first guess is always Black-bellied Plover until proven otherwise. The Golden-Plovers tend to prefer freshwater or even grassy fields. But I have seen them on the coast before.

As for Mexican shorebirds, every species in Mexico except one or two (Collared Plover and Double-striped Thick-knee) will be in any US field guide. And that includes things that aren't shorebirds as well, like gulls and terns. :lol:
User avatar
Andy Avram
Posts: 897
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:37 am
Location: NE Ohio

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Andy Avram »

chrish wrote:Cayenne Tern is not a subspecies of Elegant Tern, it is a subspecies of Sandwich Tern or maybe a valid species of its own.
This is a Cayenne Tern. It is a smaller species with a slenderer bill. Yours are Elegant Terns.

I was reading Sandwich the whole time and typing Elegant. Sorry about that.
User avatar
Hunter-MX
Posts: 183
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:21 pm
Location: Guerrero, Mexico
Contact:

Re: Who wants to help me ID shore birds?

Post by Hunter-MX »

Thanks so much Chris.

Next time you're down this way and want to donate a couple US field guides to an impoverished bird enthusiast... :mrgreen:
Post Reply