Western Wood-Pewee

The western wood-pewee and eastern wood-pewee were at one time considered the same species. Then they were divided into two species. I happened to be in Manizales, Colombia where the two ranges overlap and I saw an eastern wood-pewee and arguably a western wood-pewee, but the two species are very difficult to tell apart, except by vocalizations, and no one has confirmed my previous sighting as a western wood-pewee. I was recently in southeastern Arizona in Rock Corral Canyon in the Tumacacori Mountains when I definitely saw a western wood-pewee. So I am counting this more recent bird as my lifer. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. 

Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet

My guide, Jake Thompson, took me up into the very deserty Tumacacori Mountains, south of Green Valley on the I-19, southwest of Madera Canyon and the Santa Rita Mountains and southwest of (although much closer to) Santa Gertruda Lane and the Santa Cruz River. We drove several miles into the mountains over a pretty rough dirt road and eventually parked at the top of a hill. In a grouping of trees just off the dirt road Jake started to call a northern beardless-tyrannulet and I got some decent photos of it. 

Most flycatchers have bristles at the base of the bill which are referred to as the "beard." The "beardless" tyrannulet is lacking those bristles and thus, "beardless." 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. Another primarily Mexican and Central American bird with some inroads into southern Arizona. AI notes that they are small and have non-descript gray plumage and, thus, difficult to spot. They are usually located by their song, rather than by sight. 

Thick-Billed Kingbird

My guide, Jake Thompson, took me for a short visit to Santa Gertrudis Lane along the partially above-ground, partially submerged Santa Cruz River, just south of Tumacacori National Historic Park near Tubac in southeastern Arizona. I believe the two species he was wanting me to see, or at least the two lifers I did see, were the gray hawk and the thick-billed kingbird.  

Range from Birds of the World. It is basically a Mexican bird with a little blip into southeastern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico. It is typically found along perennial or intermittent streams and rivers with broader floodplains, near riparian woodland edges and clearings with large sycamores. This describes Santa Gertruda Lane perfectly. 

Illustration from Birds of the World.

Scott's Oriole

On May 31, 2026 I was at Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary near the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona and saw my first Scott's orioles. My guide, Jake Thompson, pointed it out to me, but it took me a little while to realize it was a bird I'd not seen before, a lifer. I only saw a couple of females, not a male. 

It is named after General Winfield Scott from the Mexican war. It is sometimes called the mountain or desert oriole, and it is actually both, as it is most common in elevated arid habitats, particularly the desert-facing slopes of mountains, or semiarid plains between mountain ranges, which is exactly where I was when I saw them. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. I was surprised to see it could be found so close to my home in Redlands. I asked AI where the best place to find it would be for me locally and it suggested Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and Covington Park next door to it; Joshua Tree NP, such as in Black Rock Campground which is among Joshua trees and yucca shrublands, where they like to breed; and desert-facing slopes of the San Bernardino Mountains such as Phelan and Pinon Hills at mid-elevations in pinyon/juniper woodlands and Joshua Tree stands. 

Broad-Billed Hummingbird

I think I discovered the hummingbird capital of the U.S. in southeastern Arizona. I saw amazing groupings of hummingbird feeders in Madera Canyon, at Santa Rita Lodge and Madera Kuba B&B; at Paton Center for Hummingbirds in Patagonia; at Beatty's Guest Ranch in Miller Canyon; at Ramsey Canyon Preserve; and at Ash Canyon Preserve. As a result I saw lots of hummingbirds and the most prevalent hummingbird during my visits was the broad-billed hummingbird, a hummingbird I'd never seen before. Now, after lots of observations, I think it is the most recognizable of the hummingbirds and one of the most beautiful.  

The first six photos are all males, all taken at Santa Rita Lodge. 

The last three are female, taken at Santa Rita Lodge, except for the last one that was taken at Madera Kuba B&B. 

The female looks quite a bit like the white-eared hummingbird I saw in Guatemala and looks more like other species of female hummingbirds I saw, such as the Rivoli's hummingbird.  

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World. 

Range from Birds of the World. It is mostly a Mexican hummingbird with a small slice of Arizona and New Mexico thrown in. 

Hepatic Tanager

My last post was on the flame-colored tanager. I had photos of both a male and what may be a female flame-colored tanager, but iNaturalist is telling me that the female is a hepatic tanager. The female in this post is a female hepatic tanager which I saw in upper Madera Canyon in the Santa Rita Mountains. The primary difference between the two species is that the flame-colored has black and white wing bars and the hepatic does not. 

Illustration of a female from Birds of the World.

Illustration of a male from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. I note that they are found in California. Per AI, in the San Bernardino Mountains, close to home, and in the eastern Mojave Desert. 

Flame-Colored Tanager

I consider it a privilege to have spent three days in southeastern Arizona with an amazing bird guide and to have become acquainted with some of the best birding in the United States. The more I read about the birds and area I've been introduced to, the more I appreciate what it is. As I read about the flame-colored tanager, Wikipedia notes, subspecies bidentata (of the flame-colored tanager) is principally found in Sonora and Chihuahua south to Guerrero and east to near Mexico City. "It occasionally reaches southern Arizona and less frequently western Texas."  Birds of the World states, it "is widespread and common in the highlands of Central America, from northern Mexico south to western Panama...[I]t is a rare visitor to the mountains of the southwestern United States." Then my mind jumps to the jaguar, which is also an occasional and rare visitor to this same area and the area gains almost a mythical quality to it. 

This bird is clearly a male flame-colored tanager. 

But it was accompanied by this bird which is not clearly a female flame-colored tanager. In fact, iNaturalist registers it as a hepatic tanager and flame-colored tanager is not on the list. But now I am leaning that way. My next post will be on the hepatic tanager and hopefully throw a little bit more light on it. 

Illustration of a female, ssp. bidentata, from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of a male, ssp. bidentata, from Birds of the World.

Range from Birds of the World. Note the small area in southern Arizona where it is resident.