Verification of Unusual
Sight Record
For Utah
Rec. # 2023-80
| Common name: |
Hepatic Tanager |
| Scientific name: | Piranga flava |
| Date: | Nov. 27, 2023 |
| Time: | 11:00 am |
| Length of time observed: | 10 minutes |
| Number: | 1 |
| Age: | immature |
| Sex: | male |
| Location: | West Valley, |
| County: | Salt Lake |
| Latilong: | 40.693733, -111.922206 |
| Elevation: | 4,300 feet |
| Distance to bird: | 20 feet |
| Optical equipment: | Lumix camera |
| Weather: | clear and cold, about 32 degrees F |
| Light Conditions: | Sunny |
| Description: Size of bird: | Slightly larger than a Western Tanager |
| (Description:) Basic Shape: | Stocky, short-tailed |
| (Description:) Overall Pattern: | Grayish yellow, with yellow crissum , throat and forehead |
| (Description:) Bill Type: | heavy, dark gray tanager bill |
|
(Description:)
Field Marks and Identifying Characteristics: |
Heavy, dark gray tanager bill with a tomial tooth. Grayish yellow all
over, with vague wing-bars. A rather vague dark eyeline ran from the
lore through the eye. The auriculars were gray and the supercilium and
throat were yellow, washed with orange. (see photo) |
| Song or call & method of delivery: | silent |
| Behavior: | Not shy. Was foraging on the ground when I rode my bicycle past, flushing her up into a nearby tree. She hopped around for a while, flew from one tree to another several times before I lost her. |
| Habitat: | Riparian woods (Jordan River) adjacent to open field in urban setting |
| Similar
species and
how were they eliminated: |
Western Tanager: Bill was dark gray and larger than Western; the wing-bars were
less distinct. Summer Tanager: The dark bill and the facial pattern, with the dark eyeline and gray auriculars separating the yellow supercilium and throat. |
| Previous
experience with this & similar species: |
I'm very familiar with Western Tanagers, and have seen quite a few Summer Tanagers. This is the first Hepatic I've seen. |
| References consulted: | |
| Description from: |
From memory From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting |
| Observer: | Brest van Kempen, Carel |
| Observer's address: | PO Box 17647; Holladay, Utah 84117 |
| Observer's e-mail address: | ** |
| Other observers who independently identified this bird: | |
| Date prepared: | Nov. 27, 2023 |
| Additional material: | Photo |
| Additional comments: |