Empidonax oberholseri

#76 - BlipBigYear 2014

Hammond's and Dusky Flycatchers are nearly identical. The sorts of features that separate them can be maddeningly subtle: extension of the flight feathers into the length of the tail, roundness of the head in profile, width of the bill, tonality of the chirpy noises they emit. However one big clue into who's who is habitat. Dusky inhabits scrub chaparral while Hammond's sticks to the tops of conifers--almost always. It's said that the first thing Teddy Roosevelt asked John Muir when they met was how to tell these two species apart. Muir's answer was look to the habitat...and if you know anything about how those two collaborated in the preservation of natural lands, the rest is history.