[CT Birds] Bullock's Oriole photos/ID

[Nick Bonomo]

I haven't seen any photos of the first-spring male Bullock's Oriole
posted yet, so I'll post the few I got in the rain this morning.
Warning: they are not any good, they don't capture every field mark,
and they do not do the bird justice!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nbonomo/BullockSOriole

A few notes about the identification for those who may want to discuss it:
Separating immature and female Bullock's from Baltimore can be very
difficult, with hybridization further complicating things. The most
striking of these immature plumages is a first-year male Bullock's,
which has a sharply-demarcated black throat patch that is not
typically shown by any plumage of Baltimore (however, the occasional
Baltimore may show a similar pattern). The orange-yellow of this bird
is very bright in the malar and auriculars, with a faint eyeline and a
dusky crown, giving a capped look. The head of an immature Baltimore
should be uniformly warm brown, giving a more hooded appearance and
lacking the eyeline. This bird, now in its first spring, also shows a
hint of the white wing panel typical of adult male Bullock's.

Sibley and Nat Geo depict imm. male Bullock's quite well, and the
Canaan bird is a nice example of one.

Nick Bonomo
Orange, CT