I was uncertain about the identification of this bird, so I uploaded the image to ChatGPT, requesting identification.
Me: Please identify the bird in this photograph. Please describe the scene.
ChatGPT: This is a photograph of a Carolina Chickadee, identifiable by its black cap and bib, white cheeks, and soft grey back, wings, and tail. It is perched on a bare branch amidst a network of similar branches against a pale blue sky, likely in a deciduous woodland during the non-breeding season when trees are leafless.
For verification, I uploaded the same image to the Merlin ID app. Merlin also identified this bird as a Carolina Chickadee. However, after additional reading on All About Birds, I learned that this individual could be a Carolina or Black-capped Chickadee. They are very similar in colouring, and identification can be challenging. The calls of the Black-capped Chickadee are different from the Carolina Chickadee. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the presence of mind to use the Merlin app for an audio identification.
However, Merlin ID mentioned a 2014 study by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Villanova University, and Cornell University that indicates that the hybrid zone between Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees is shifting northward in alignment with rising winter temperatures.
This is the first time I have heard and photographed a Chickadee. I heard this individual's distinctive call when I was outside, about to leave on a short walk. The bird was in a tall tree in the small wooded area between two streets near my home. Despite the challenges of backlighting, I enhanced some of its features using Adobe Lightroom, drawing out the finer details that aided in its accurate identification.
Some birds are making it really hard to identify. Here in Austin, I was talking to other photographers who said the titmice we see in our area are all hybrids, i.e., a mixture of tufted titmouse and black-capped titmouse. Your idea to check with AI is good. I liked your photos.
I wish I had my Merlin app out to identify using the bird calls. It was in the pocket of my jeans but the XF150-600mmF5.6-8 R LM OIS WR zoom lens is too heavy to handle with one hand. 🙂
Interesting information about the titmouse. The Merlin ID app has identified the Tufted Titmouse bird calls from the woods beyond the backyard but I have yet to see one.
Well, Khürt, I never think of Merlin. I guess I'm not a true birder. I used iNaturalist and Picture This a lot to identify plants and flowers. As for titmice, you just need to come to my backyard patio. Those cute birds devour the seeds I put for them. They are constantly coming and going. I never get tired of watching them.
I may not have the right seed. I’ll try this spring.
I wouldn't know the difference, but I love their cheerful little cries of Chick-a-dee-dee-dee, or "You hoo".
I wish I had had my iPhone out with the Merlin app. It can identify the birds by song.
@khurtwilliams Ha! As soon as I saw the post title, I thought, nope, this one requires the song of the bird to identify just as you point out in the post. I learned that myself a couple years ago because I'd long thought I was seeing the Black Capped Chickadee until one day the Merlin app identified it as the Carolina by the song! Up to that point I was unaware that the Caroline Chickadee existed. The Merlin app has been the single best way for me to learn new bird song and identification. So great!
I believe I have one. He is here everyday. Only 1. But lots of other birds in my yard in multiples. BB Woodpeckers. Doves. Pine Wablers. Etc. But he is always by himself
Jill!!!! Lol..