Whose eggs are these?

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adamschneider
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Whose eggs are these?

Post by adamschneider » June 9th, 2017, 9:31 pm

I was at Big Summit Prairie this past week and accidentally flushed a bird out from some sagebrush. When I went to look closer at where she'd been, I found this nest:
eggs.jpg
I think the bird that I flushed was one of these, but I can't be sure:
birds.jpg
Any clues?

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aiwetir
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Re: Whose eggs are these?

Post by aiwetir » June 9th, 2017, 11:26 pm

This is in the Ochocos? Nest in the sagebrush and not on the ground?
- Michael

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adamschneider
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Re: Whose eggs are these?

Post by adamschneider » June 10th, 2017, 8:26 am

aiwetir wrote:This is in the Ochocos? Nest in the sagebrush and not on the ground?
Yes, the Ochocos. The nest WAS on the ground, but sheltered under some sagebrush and cinquefoil.
nest.jpg

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bobcat
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Re: Whose eggs are these?

Post by bobcat » June 15th, 2017, 6:51 am

Just from the silhouettes, the birds most closely resemble Brewer's blackbirds, and the eggs would fit that profile. Brewer's do not normally nest on the ground, however, and prefer to be in colonies. It's also possible that the two front eggs, the browner ones, are brown-headed cowbird interlopers (Cowbirds are brood parasites). The blue eggs could also be one of the ground-nesting sparrows. All of these species have small speckled eggs, about the same size, although the blackbird and cowbird chicks will grow large very quickly.

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dcammack
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Re: Whose eggs are these?

Post by dcammack » July 5th, 2017, 3:15 pm

Could be a Western Meadowlark or Sage Thrasher.

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bobcat
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Re: Whose eggs are these?

Post by bobcat » July 10th, 2017, 7:28 pm

The bird in the second picture looks like a meadowlark; nest on the ground also indicative of meadowlark. The blue eggs don't seem blue enough for meadowlark, but maybe just the picture. I still think the brown eggs are cowbird.

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