The Flying Away Problem

Sometimes I almost get an identifiable picture. This frequently happens when the subject doesn't disappear entirely (like frogs/turtles diving into water), but when wings of a fleeing animal obscure details.

In this first instance, I can tell this is one of our commas just from shape/color and visible patterns. But I can't distinguish between our 2 most common commas:

  • The small pattern of the top view of the wing seems closer to the spots I'd see on an Eastern Comma.
  • There seem to be 2 blurred pale lines on the moving underwing, which suggest the 2 marks (dot and curved line) that I'd see on a Question Mark.

In this case I'm stuck with being able to tell the genus (Polygonia) but not the species.

July 30, 2021 at Negri Nepote Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 149012466, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

The next one shows a bird trying to avoid getting its picture taken, though not in time. Though there's not much detail of the face, the yellow body and the black head/wings pretty much guarantee this is a camera-shy American Goldfinch. (In support of this theory, I saw other, more stationary, American Goldfinches in this area.)

July 30, 2021 at Negri Nepote Native Grassland Preserve


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