Roger,
Thanks for the challenge! I was working on the id but never got around to a
final decision but great photo for a mystery bird.
William Leigh leightern@xxxxxxx
From: rmayhorn@xxxxxxxxxx
To: va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:55:19 -0400
Subject: [Va-bird] Mystery Bird Revealed
First let me thank everyone who ventured a guess as to the identification of
the mystery bird at http://www.pbase.com/mayhorn/feeding_bird There were 19 ;
different species guessed, but the two that topped the list were Cerulean and
Blackpoll with Cerulean getting 6 votes and Blackpoll getting 9 votes. I have
to agree with those who voted for 1ST YEAR FEMALE BLACKPOLL. Here is the
reason why. I have to admit that when I first saw the bird I identified it as
a juvenile Cerulean, but the supercillium is not nearly as pronounced as it
should be on a Cerulean and the eye-ring doesn't match. If you look at the
1st year female Cerulean in Sibley's field guide you hardly notice an
eye-ring. Yet it is really obvious on the mystery bird. Also the dark ring
under the lower eye ring is more pronounced on a Blackpoll as it is on the
mystery bird. Then the other field marks fall into place - the white
under-tail coverts, the pattern on the underside of the tail, the green head
(a bit gre
ener than usual I'll admit), the streaked sides, yellow throat and chest and
the white wingbars. The Blackpoll has all of these.
I'm far from being an expert, and some may disagree with my call and those
who gave the most votes to the Blackpoll. If someone does disagree and can
give a better argument for another species please let us hear it. This is all
in fun, but one thing I have learned about birders. They take their hobby
seriously and want the identifications to be correct, which is as it should
be.
Here is the list of species guessed in the order of number of votes:
Blackpoll 9
Cerulean 6
Blackburnian 3
Magnolia 3
Bay-breasted 2
Northern Parula 2
Kirtland's 2
Vireo 2
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Cape May Warbler 1
Black-throated Green 1
Prairie Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1
American Redstart 1
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Yellow-throated Vireo 1
White-eyed Vireo 1
Brewster's and Red-eyed Hybrid 1
Thanks again,
Roger Mayhorn
Compton Mt
Buchanan County
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