Rio Grande Bird Research, Inc.

06/05/2026

This Second Year (FCF) male Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens) was 1 of around 6 or 7 chats banded at Valle de Oro NWR last month. These birds are a very common species all along the banks of the middle Rio Grande, where they can be found breeding in the dense willow and cottonwood thickets. During migration, they can be found in almost any habitat type that has some thick vegetation associated with it.

Yellow-breasted Chats (YBCHs) are known for having a very elaborate song which includes quite a bit of mimicry thrown in between normal YBCH phrases. These songs are often all birders end up getting when searching for YBCH, as they are known for being particularly skulky and hard to find. Late spring and early summer is the easiest time to get views of these birds, and that is because this is when the males are doing their display flights. A displaying male YBCH will find a relatively high perch, slowly fly down to a lower perch, while puffing out his yellow breast and singing very loudly and excitedly. These birds continue to sing throughout the breeding season but tend to stop displaying when the females are on nests, and especially when the eggs hatch and there are demanding chicks in the nest.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

05/27/2026

This gorgeous “strawberry lemonade” tanager was definitely one of the prettier birds from this past weekend! This beautiful plumage is also relatively unique among many bird species.

This Second Year (FCA) male Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) is an excellent example of delayed plumage maturation. As the name implies, delayed plumage maturation is when the an individual (usually male) delays their adult plumage and retains some of their juvenile-like plumage (usually colored like a female) into their first breeding season. Summer Tanagers, Blue Grosbeaks, American Redstarts, Bald Eagles (males and females), and Tree Swallows (only females) are all examples of species that show delayed plumage maturation.

The yellow and brownish feathers are a mix of juvenile and formative feathers from last year (2025) when this bird hatched, while the red feathers are alternate feathers from earlier this year (2026). When he is done with his first breeding season at the end of this summer, he will then go through his prebasic molt (remember add the pre when talking about the molt, and remove the pre when talking about the feathers) which will put him in his full red adult plumage this species is known for.

Despite not being in his full red attire, this young male was paired with a Second Year female. The females of this species do not show delayed plumage maturation and show their full “adult” coloration in their first breeding season, even though they show the same extent of molt as the males.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

05/06/2026

Tis the season so I thought I would bring this post back! The hummingbirds have been back for at least a month now, so if you don’t have your feeder out yet, do it! Even though many of our hummers are still passing through on their way north, many of our breeding species already have territories and nests! Here’s a look at the two species of hummingbird that breed in central New Mexico.

The top left picture is of a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus). This species is the high elevation species which breeds from about 6,500-12,000 ft in elevation in mixed pine forest (top right picture). Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (BTHUs) are known for their wine colored throats (gorgets) and a loud “zinging” sound as they fly. This zinging sound is produced by special notches in the outermost primaries of each wing. Females and juveniles do not produce this sound.

The bottom left picture is of a male Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri). This species is the low elevation species which breeds from sea level up to around 7,500 ft. They will breed in a variety of forested and shrubby habitats, but here in central NM, they are most abundant in riparian zones along the Rio Grande (bottom right picture). Male Black-chinned Hummingbirds (BCHUs) are known for their mostly black chin with a purple band at the bottom of the gorget. These birds are the closest relatives to the eastern Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

The middle right picture shows pinyon/juniper woodland which occurs in the foothills of most of NM’s mountains from around 6,000-8,000 ft in elevation. Both species occur in this habitat. As you might expect, BCHUs are more common in the lower parts of this habitat while BTHUs are more common in the upper parts.
- Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

05/06/2026

A Broad-tailed Hummingbird we banded a couple of years ago!

The hummingbirds are back! For most of us in North America, the iconic hummingbirds are finally arriving back at our feeders and flowers (or will be back very soon if you’re in the far north).

One of the first hummingbird species back to central New Mexico (and much of the interior-west) is the Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus). Rio Grande Bird Reseach Inc. banded this After Hatch Year male (top picture) in the fall of 2023. Thanks to Jason Kitting for the pictures of this beautiful bird!

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (BTHUs) are true high elevation specialists and spend the majority of their yearly cycles in mountains. During the breeding season, they are found in the central mountains of the western US, from southern Montana down into western Texas. In winter, they are found throughout the mountains of Mexico and parts of western Guatemala.

An interesting fact about BTHUs is that the adult males have specially shaped outer primaries (bottom picture) that produce a loud ringing when in flight. This ringing is used during displays towards other males in territory disputes and to females during courtship. The ringing is also how this species earned their nickname, the “Mountain Zinger.”

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

03/19/2026

That’s a lot of Vireos! We’ve banded many of these species too!

02/10/2026

01/13/2026

It’s again! Instead of talking about molt limits today, I thought I would talk about two different types of plumages or molts that we see this time of year. Here’s a look at formative plumage (preformative molt) vs basic plumage (prebasic molt).

Both the formative and basic plumages generally are seen in fall and winter. In many bird books, these plumages are often referred to as fall or winter plumages. Most species molt one of these two plumages in on the breeding grounds and before fall migration, but some species (such as most empids) wait till after fall migration and molt on their winter grounds. The preformative molt (add pre-when talking about the molt and delete pre- when talking about the plumage) only occurs in young birds and is usually not a complete molt (meaning not all feathers are replaced). The prebasic molt only occurs in adults birds and is a complete molt (meaning all feathers are replaced).

For most species, the formative and basic plumages are very hard to tell apart outside of the hand. For birds like these White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), the difference between these plumages is actually pretty easy to see! The bird on the right is a young Hatch Year (FCF) bird in its formative plumage. This plumage includes a brownish gray body and tan and maroon head stripes. The bird on the left is an adult After Hatch Year (DCB) bird in its basic plumage. This plumage includes a slate gray body and white and black head stripes. Be warned that these birds will look identical come late winter and early spring when the birds start their prealternate molt and put in their alternate plumage for the breeding season.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

01/10/2026

Have you ever thought about how the sun impacts feathers? Well it turns out solar radiation can do some pretty intense damage to feathers. This is particularly true at high elevations where the air is thin and there is less protection from the sun. Here’s a look at what the sun does to Rosy-Finch feathers.

This After Second Year (DCB) male Black Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte atrata) is a great example of what the high elevation sun can do. When this bird first arrived to the Sandia Mountains in November, all of his feathers on his back and body were black with whitish edging. As time goes on, the whitish edging wears off, leaving behind just the black. This is a little different on the bird’s back which gets the most sun exposure as the bird is perched or foraging. Not only does the whitish edging wear off even faster, the black actually fades to a brown color. This sun damage also makes the feathers brittle and more likely to wear away, which is another reason why it is so important for birds to molt their feathers every year. Birds living in open habitats and high elevations often show more extreme feather damage from the sun (sometimes meaning more obvious molt limits) than species that live in forested habitats and lower elevations where there is more protection.

This picture was taken several years ago when the Sandia Crest House was still open. For those who don’t know, the Crest House has been closed since 2020 when a combination of COVID and an attempted ownership change caused the business to close. Unfortunately, it has been decided to tear the building down now instead of attempting to reopen the business. Rio Grande Bird Research will continue to maintain the feeder and band Rosy-Finches in the lower parking lot.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

01/01/2026

Happy New Year! Here’s a look at two similar looking Rosy-Finch species.

The birds on the left are Brown-capped Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte australis), while the birds on the right are Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis). Both are relatively large brown finches with varying amounts of pink and with grayish crowns. Despite these similarities, there are several key differences that are useful in separating these two species.

The first difference is most obvious in the top two pictures but can be seen in all of the pictures. This difference is the color of brown in the body plumage. Brown-capped Rosy-Finches (BCRFs) have a light tannish brown, while Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (GCRFs) have a darker chestnut or chocolate brown. The next difference is the amount of pink in the flanks (mainly seen in males). BCRFs have pink going about half way up their flanks and across their bellies, while GCRFs have pink going about a quarter of the way up their flanks and only across their lower belly. The last difference is the color of the crown. In BCRFs, each crown feather has a dark center and gray edge which gives the entire crown a mottled appearance. In GCRFs, the gray crown feathers are entirely gray which contrasts sharply with the dark forehead. Young females can be particularly confusing as BCRFs look they don’t have a crown, and young GCRFs may only have gray crown feathers along the sides of their heads.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.

12/30/2025

Now here’s a post we’ve been meaning to remake for years. Here’s a look at two very similar looking sparrow species.

The Lincoln’s Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) and the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) are two closely related and widespread sparrow species. These two have fairly different breeding requirements, but they can be found in the same habitat (often together) during migration and in winter. And of course, they look very similar to each other! Luckily there are a few key differences that help when identifying these two species.

The Lincoln’s Sparrow (LISP) is on the left while the Song Sparrow (SOSP) is on the right. Both species are known for having relatively long tails, gray and reddish streaks throughout the body, and may or may not show a central breast spot. The top two pictures show how similar these species can look, but the lower pictures emphasize some of their differences.

This middle pictures are pointing out the difference in streaks on the sides of the body (the flanks). LISPs have neat and delicate streaking which is consistent in size and shape, while SOSPs have messy and thick streaking which is inconsistent in size and shape. The bottom pictures are pointing out one of the most important field marks used in separating these two species. If you look at the upper breast of the LISP, you will notice a thick buffy band that goes across the top of the breast (behind all the streaking) which is absent in the SOSP. SOSPs have many color forms and subspecies but none of them show this buffy band seen in LISPs.
-Jason Kitting

All banding is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s BBL.