--Records Committee
Utah Ornithological Society
   
Status & Comments
Year 2026 (records 41through ...)

 2026-41 Lark Bunting

Evaluator Date Vote Comment
Jeff C. 14 Jul 2026 Acc Media and description confirm the species.
Max M. 29 Jul 2026 Acc Good documentation and photos
Keeli M. 21 Jul 2026 Acc Photos are diagnostic of breeding male.
Bryant O. 17 Jul 2026 Acc I think this species doesn't qualify for review since its still an annual migrant in decent numbers. It is declining and becoming harder to find, but still seen more than Casually, therefore review seems unnecessary. I realize I'm the one who proposed we add it, but it was more of an open ended discussion on how to deal with rapidly declining birds that used to nest here but no longer do, which may be beyond the scope of the UBRC to track? But we want to catch them in review before they complete disappear, unlike we did for the INDO or the Veery. So where do we draw that line? I don't know.
Kris P. 20 Jul 2026 Acc  
Mark S. 31 Jul 2026 Acc Unmistakable photo and good write-up. This area can be irruptive for Lark Buntings, with the species appearing to be abundant in some years.
David W. 17 Jul 2026 Acc Good photos and writeup of a distinctive species. Nice to see three males like that.
Kevin W. 31 Jul 2026 Acc Photo shows distinctive black bird with white wing patch of Lark Bunting.

 

2026-42 Hooded Oriole

Evaluator Date Vote Comment
Jeff C. 15 Jul 2026 Acc The description lacks some key traits. There is no mention of the bill shape and color pattern, coverts, or graduated tail feathers. However, the images show a male Hooded Oriole with the right facial and underside plumage, bill, and tail feather traits. I cannot speak to the bird hidden in the tree because no field notes have been shared and the bird is too obscured in the images.
Max M. 29 Jul 2026 Acc Looks good for Hooded
Keeli M. 2 Aug 2026 Acc Photos support ID.
Bryant O. 17 Jul 2026 Acc Photos leave no doubt
Kris P. 26 Jul 2026 Acc I'm voting to accept this record conditionally for one adult male Hooded Oriole, clearly depicted in the photo and showing the black face and bib; black graduated tail; clean, orange-yellow breast; and lacking a black crown. The minimal description barely supports this ID, but fails to rule out several other orange and black orioles. I can't tell if the observer meant the "white arm bars" were a single bar on each wing totaling to two (meaning it could also have an orange median bar that other species show), or the bird had two white bars on both wings.

The second bird was not described nor is visible enough in the photo to accept the record of it. I can't even conclude that the bird is an oriole from the photo. Had the observer seen it well enough to ID it as a Hooded, he would have been able to sex it definitively as either a male or a female based on the presence or absence of the black throat.
Mark S. 31 Jul 2026 Acc Scant description, but the main subject of the photo is unmistakable. The second bird in the photo is less clear, but the bill shape would be consistent with Hooded Oriole.
David W. 17 Jul 2026 Acc Combination of photos and writeup appear to eliminate the other oriole species. Nice record.
Kevin W. 31 Jul 2026 Acc Photos show oriole with distinctive bib of Hooded Oriole

 

2026-43 Chihuahuan Raven

Evaluator Date Vote Comment
Jeff C. 28 Jul 2026 No, ID For this first-round vote, I considered the standards that were applied to previously vetted records for the species (i.e. 2010-14 and 2013-70). What appears to be white-based throat feathers and seemingly long nasal bristles are intriguing as they appear to point to Chihuahuan Raven. However, pale gray can appear white in sunlight or imprecise exposure. Also, nasal bristle length seems to vary by individual in both Chihuahuan and Common Ravens. I believe the bristles and bill of this bird fits within the range of Common Raven. Some Common Ravens show bristles going beyond the half-way point of the bill, even to where the culmen begins to curve downward. I see images online that are labeled as Common that appear to show white at the base of contour feathers when exposed by wind and sun. Records for this species that have been previously vetted by this committee have treated both the base feather color and bristle length as variable and not completely reliable in photos, so considering other differentiating traits becomes necessary for a full vetting. This record does not account for crown shape (flatter or more gently rounded like a CHRA or more rounded with a peak at center like a CORA), tail shape (slightly wedged like a CHRA or really wedged like a CORA), vocalization, or size relative to a nearby Common Raven. It is not clear if a Common Raven was present for direct comparison during the observation of this individual, but as I read the record, the observer seems to be generalizing size from experience with ravens he d previously observed in the area. In the balance, I prefer more information on these unaddressed traits before saying that the species can be confirmed.
Max M. 29 Jul 2026 To 2nd Interesting record, however without vocalization and the quality of the photo, I am hesitant for a first state record. Establishing size of a lone bird can be difficult. Nasal bristles look long but I think this is a difficult thing to distinguish from Common. The base of the neck feathers do appear white, but it also looks like it may be an injury or something with the odd coloration in the middle? Seems very similar to a previous Utah submission for Chihuahuan Raven. Interested in hearing others thoughts on this one.
Keeli M. 2 Aug 2026 To 2nd Photo does seem to show white bases of neck feathers, and the nasal bristles do seem to extend beyond the middle of the bill, but wondering if the ID can be definitive without hearing the call?
Bryant O. 17 Jul 2026 No, ID This is an extremly difficult ID, and with no other raven around to give a direct comparison or vocalizations even harder. The white feather base seems be the main feature, but that can actually be very misleading. CORA have very pale gray feather bases that in bright sun can look white. The bill does not give me the CHRA bill shape, it looks to long and narrow with a substantial part past the nasal bristles. In CHRA the nasal bristles cover 3/4 of the upper mandible and the curve of the culmen starts under them. Also a species not know to wander out of range much.
Kris P. 25 Jul 2026 No, ID  I don't think there's enough information here to make this ID. I commend the observer for digging around and finding the Sibley article, but then he didn't use the guidance Sibley offered in ID'ing the bird.
Dennis S.      
Mark S. 31 Jul 2026 Acc Good written description, and the photos show diagnostic features of white feather bases, thick, blunt-tipped bill, and rictal bristles extending over half the length of the bill.
David W. 17 Jul 2026 To 2nd I am getting conflicting signals on this raven. I initially thought this bird was a CHRA, but I'm not so sure after a more thorough examination of the photo. Of course, this is a notoriously subtle ID unless a variety of field marks are observed. It is very unfortunate the voice was not heard and the tail not described. Additionally, the base of the bill is funky, appearing almost plucked, which messes with the GISS. This may indicate a juvenile bird.

Pro:
-- The bird was said in the writeup to be smaller than surrounding ravens (though, of course, this is not evident in the photo, one way or the other, since it only shows the one bird).

Neutral:
-- Head shape doesn't seem to rule out either species. It is fairly rounded but perhaps a bit flat on top. I don't see a clear peak in the rear of the head nor the top of the head. Overall, though, the head may look fairly large proportionally, vaguely supporting the CHRA ID. The observer notes that the bird's head is not observed head-on in the photo (which negates this analysis). Also, Sibley points out, regarding this field mark: "Individual photographs can be misleading and difficult to identify, but extended observation or a series of photos should reveal the distinctive head shape of each species." So I guess this goes in the neutral column...
-- The pale bases to the neck feathers appear to be whitish rather than gray. But they are not bright white as shown on many photos for a CHRA. This might just be a trick of the light, but doesn't strike me as supporting either species definitively. I also get the impression from the photo that the pale area boundary is blurry rather than sharp, which would support a CORA ID. However, that blurriness is a vague impression.
-- The degree of neck scruffiness is unclear due to the nature of the wind fluffing.

Con:
-- The bill looks too long, though that may be due to the aforementioned oddly bare gape. Also, the shape doesn't fit the CHRA very well (not noticeably thicker at the base).
-- The length of the nasal bristles, as measured from the forehead rather than the aforementioned odd gape, appears to be in the 50-60% range (I measured it twice at different magnifications and got 50% and 51% -- not the 3/4 reported in the writeup). That 51% would be in the overlap zone, though far closer to CORA than CHRA. Not definitive, but not supportive of the CHRA ID. According to Sibley's article in the ABA website, (https://www.aba.org/identification-of-chihuahuan-raven-and-its-status-north-of-mexico/) the range of the CORA is up to 60%, the range of the CHRA is 50 and above.

Overall, I'd say I'm leaning against this ID (in the category of "not proven beyond doubt"), and perhaps toward a juvenile Common raven. However, I'm curious whether others have a more convincing take on this bird. Perhaps some of you have better calipers or bill measuring skills than do I.

2nd round:

20 Aug 2026 No, ID Well, the first round comments of others have only confirmed my aforementioned lean away from a vote to accept. I'll settle on a vote of "maybe," which is a No, ID.

[I would only like to facetiously add that I may not have considered the opposite possibility when I said the funky, plucked-looking feathers near the base of the bill might indicate a juvenile. Extrapolating from myself (as an avian metaphor), I would point out that this might also be an old geezer Common raven based on long nasal bristles and scruffy face.]
Kevin W. 31 Jul 2026 No, ID I think that the field marks shown in the photos do not support Chihuahuan Raven. The bristles above the bill appear to only extend halfway to the tip (should be 60% or more for Chihuahuan), the bill seems pretty long, the head- although mostly rounded, seems peaked in the middle rather than the back, and the obvious lighter-colored feather patch in the neck, although showing white, is not as contrasty as I expect in a Chihuahuan. I think it may be a factor of lighting or overexposure.