[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]
Posted by John Boyd on 15:09:22 01/11/09
During yesterday's TAS trip we found a surprising warbler at Castellow Hammock. Since our leader didn't post about it, I thought someone should.
The bird was either a Blackburnian or Townsend's. It had the roughly triangular dark patch on the face, outlined by bright yellow, bright yellow throat and breast, dark streaking on the sides, but the breast itself was unstreaked. There were two bold white wingbars. The upper back seemed dark, darker than the auricular patch. I wasn't sure it if was streaked and detected no braces. The lighting was not ideal for seeing the back. I did not note bill color, nor did anyone mention it.
At the time, suggestions included BT Green, Pine, Cape May, and Townsend's. A look at the book suggested we had forgotten Blackburnian (oddly, I was looking to field marks to distinguish it and Townsend's). The first three can be ruled out. E.g., BT Green doesn't have extensive bright yellow on the breast, Pine lacks the dark auricular patch, Cape May has extensive breast streaking.
Although I can't completely rule out a young Townsend's male lacking any black on the throat, this bird seems to be a Blackburnian. The darkness of the back, especially in comparison to the auricular patch, points in that direction, as does the combination of bright yellow with no black on the throat or breast (only dark streaking on the sides).
[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ TAS BirdBoard ] [ FAQ ]