Posted by Robin Diaz on January 01, 1970 at 00:00:00
Hi Mike - Your empid looks like a “classic” Acadian to me. Field marks to compare with Yellow-bellied, the most likely confusion at this time of year: color of primaries (dusky instead of black); shape of head (peaked instead of rounded); bill (rather long for empid); throat (whitish); tail (straight instead of tapered near the body); eye ring (complete but not prominent nor "almond" shaped). Adults molt into basic plumage on their breeding grounds so in fall we can see them with a strong yellow wash on the underparts. These are excellent diagnostic photos. Thanks very much for sharing.