shape – Mia McPherson's On The Wing Photography

Eared And Horned Grebe Nonbreeding Plumage Comparison

By Mia McPherson|2024-03-14T06:55:05-05:00November 11th, 2023|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Bird ID, Birds, Box Elder County, Eared Grebes, Horned Grebes, Utah|Tags: autumn, bills, clean, comparison, dusky, Eared Grebe, fall, grebe, grebes, Horned Grebe, identification, marsh, nonbreeding plumage, Podiceps auritus, Podiceps nigricollis, shape, size, water, waterbirds, wetlands, white tip, winter|

This morning, I wanted to share an Eared and Horned Grebe nonbreeding plumage comparison. Why? Because, at this time of year, I can see both species.

Fruit Fly Shaped Cloud

By Mia McPherson|2022-01-13T04:32:08-06:00November 14th, 2021|Categories: Miscellaneous, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: apophenia, autumn, cloud, clouds, Drosophila, fall, fruit fly, pareidolia, shape, shapes, sky|

On Friday I was looking for birds high in the sky and low on the horizon when I turned my head and spotted a fruit fly shaped cloud.

Female Red-winged Blackbirds – Frequency in Misidentification

By Mia McPherson|2021-07-28T03:59:20-05:00June 14th, 2017|Categories: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Birds, Box Elder County, Florida, Fort De Soto County Park, Pinellas County, Red-winged Blackbirds, Utah|Tags: Agelaius phoeniceus, bill shape, bill size, bird identification, blackbird, blackbirds, body size, color, common, eye color, female, females, identification, keys, leg color, leg length, male, males, misidentification, misidentified, plumage patterns, Red-winged Blackbird, sexual dimorphism, shape|

Female Red-winged Blackbirds seem to be the birds that are most often misidentified probably because they look so different from the males. Red-winged Blackbirds are sexually dimorphic .