Aztec Thrushes Continue

Looking for a birder in southeast Arizona? Head to Madera Canyon, where everybody, local and exotic alike, is spellbound by the spectacle of multiple Aztec Thrushes, still feeding in the cherry trees even on this rainy morning.

This morning Denis and I got to watch two individuals, both of them sitting stolid in the foliage at first, then eventually moving out to give us the best views I’ve had yet during this invasion. Both of today’s birds had full dark hoods and well-defined wing patterns. One was apparently a male, with a clear sooty tone to the upperparts and well-defined partial bar across the vent; the other was most likely a female, paler and with more obvious spotting and streaking on the sides of the neck and a more diffuse vent bar (or flank patch). There are no juveniles known to be involved in the incursion (so far!).

That said, my only source for age and sex information is Dale Zimmerman’s excellent article in Birding 23.6; I’m eager to hear comments and clarifications from readers who know more about this species (or have ready access to Peter Clement’s identification monograph).

Many of us are also beginning to wonder just how many individuals are accounted for so far. It seems quite possible that we are seeing not the attrition of the original flock of 9 birds, but rather its replacement by smaller flocks and pairs; who knows, there may be dozens of Aztec Thrushes in Arizona’s Sky Islands right now!