In addition to the characteristics that Andy mentioned, *the outer edges to
the outermost tail feathers **(i.e., the feather sides, not the tips) **on
Western Kingbirds are white, giving the sides of the spread tail prominent
white borders*.  This can be seen on birds at rest (i.e., perched), but
since those outer feathers are on the bottom of the stack (they're what you
see as the underside of the tail) those edges aren't nearly as
contrastingly white. Why? Because there's no light shining through them as
on the spread tail.

Here's the Glacier Ridge bird in flight, showing those pale sides to the
tail (photo by Irina Shulgina):

https://flic.kr/p/nWnvb4

To illustrate how subtle this field mark is on perched birds, here's a
Western Kingbird I photographed in Colorado last week, showing the
not-so-obvious pale outer margins on the outer tail feathers:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauljhurtado/14372917902/

Good birding,
-Paul Hurtado


On Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Andrew Sewell <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Great Crested Flycatchers have longer tails with reddish coloring
> underneath and brown upper parts, especially on the head. The
> characteristic shared by Western Kingbird and Great Crested Flycatchers
> that may throw off some folks is that both have yellow bellies. Look at
> Steve Landes' photos again and note the gray head and all-dark tail, then
> compare that with Great Crested and the differences should be more
> apparent.
>
> I sure hope this bird sticks around so I can go and see it (allergies be
> damned!)
>
> Andy Sewell
> Columbus Ohio
>
>
> On Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 10:32 AM, Hutson, Timothy B <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
> > I looked at the pictures of this bird posted on Flickr.  To me it looks
> > more like a great crested flycatcher.  It appears to have a crest on its
> > head.   Could someone give me some hints as to what differentiates this
> > Kingbird from a great crested?
> >
> > Thanks
> > Tim
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
> > Doreene Linzell
> > Sent: Monday, June 09, 2014 7:07 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: [Ohio-birds] Western Kingbird - yes!
> >
> > The bird reported from Glacier Ridge yesterday is still present. Come to
> > the windmill.
> >
> > Doreene Linzell
> >
>
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--
Paul J. Hurtado
Postdoctoral Fellow, The Ohio State University
Mathematical Biosciences Institute, http://mbi.osu.edu/
Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, http://ael.osu.edu/

E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Webpage: http://people.mbi.ohio-state.edu/hurtado.10

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