eBird Subspecies in Vermont

Some birds seen in Vermont may not have a subspecies level; some cannot safely be identified as a specific subspecies; some can only be safely identified in hand; and some are the nominate subspecies, but not commonly reported as a subspecies, particularly on eBird.

Here, I’m trying to list what I know about subspecies identification. I hope to grow this, in time. If you have comments, please email richard@burntfen.com and I’d love to chat to you about this!

For the most part, I am interested in birds which can be logged on eBird using a subspecies identification. However, there are cases where eBird doesn’t have that option, due to difficulties in the field. I hope to tease those out here, too.

Example Checklist

  • X Northern Cardinal: Heard, seen.
  • X Northern Cardinal (Common): Male: Breast brighter red than crest. Female: Black face mask, neither grey nor white.
  • X Red-eyed/Philadelphia Vireo: Unable to visually identify.
  • X Philadelphia Vireo: Unable to visually identify, but song clearly higher and slower than REVI.
  • X Philadelphia Vireo: Visually identified.
  • X Red-eyed Vireo: Visually identified.
  • X Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon): No comment.
  • X American Crow: No comment.
  • X House Sparrow: No comment.
  • X Northern Flicker: Heard.
  • X Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted): Identified by yellow feathers. Cheeks and throat tan, contrasting with gray crown and nape; on the male, malar black and nape crescent red.
  • X Least Bittern: No comment. Visually identifiable as I. e. exilis given ocherous side of head, creamy yellow wing coverts, but not an option on eBird.

Subspecies that can only be identified with visual confirmation

  • Northern Cardinal (Common)
  • Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
  • Least Bittern I. e. exilis Not an option on eBird.

Species that should not be safely identified without visual confirmation

  • Red-eyed/Philadelphia Vireo
  • Gray-cheeked/Bicknell’s Thrush In migration using NFCs.

Open questions to research

  • Do Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted Northern Flickers sound diagnostically different?
  • Can spectral analysis identify a PHVI from a REVI?