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Identify this silhouette at a distance

Posted on Aug 19, 2014

I spotted this bird at RTPI today from a distance without binoculars and knew its identity immediately. Standing in our garden I could see the basic silhouette and how it had positioned itself. Those two clues plus the date should help you determine the species as well. Any ideas? If you do not want to know the answer don’t keep reading…did you figure it out yet? It’s…an Olive-sided Flycatcher! I had one of the uncommon southbound migrants last August as well but it was my first of 2014. I watched it feeding for a while as I looked for butterflies, the bird grabbing mid-air snacks and returning to the classic high perches on dead snags.

Bird silhouette tree 0058