To describe my lifelong fascination with flight and with creatures that fly I like to echo the words of John James Audubon who in 1839 wrote of himself as "...one who never can cease to admire and to study with zeal and the most heartfelt reverence, the wonderful productions of an Almighty Creator."
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warblers in winter plumage are being reported by many birders who are offering suet at their feeders. It seemed that two or three were in my yard all day today. Some of them are fairly easy to identify as either the "Audubon's" or "Myrtle" form, but this one has me puzzled. According to the Nat'l Geographic guide, the lack of a whitish line over the eye makes it an Audubon. According to Sibley, the prominent streaks on the breast make it a Myrtle. Maybe it's half-and-half.
This one seems to have more of an eyeline, and the wite of the throat extends farther back on the side of the neck, so that indicates that it is likely a Myrtle.
Not sure when you posted this but having recently tried to ID another Yellow-rumped Warbler, I thought some of my notes might help (and by the way, numerous have decried the Nat Geo descriptions as being inadequate for this species and in differentiating between the two northern subspecies auduboni and coronata...
my Peterson Advanced Birding has some very definitive discussion on the difference between the Myrtle vs Audubon... to summarise:
throat color can be tricky- bright yellow is a sure sign of Audubon, a bright white throat a sure sign of Myrtle "but many winter birds of either have pale buff or off-white throats" however on the Myrtle "the pale throat extends to the side of the neck, setting off the back edge of a dark ear patch" whereas on the Audubon's "the pale throat is usually smaller and more restricted, not spreading to the sides of the neck"...
further, "the dark ear patch almost always contrasts more on Myrtle: it is darker, set off more sharply against the throat and side of the neck" and Peterson's continues "often outlined by a pale eyestripe"- (by the way, Audubons can also have a faint stripe behind the eye so that is not a stand-alone mark)...
the breast pattern on a Myrtle "tends more toward narrow streaks on a whitish background" whereas an Audubon's "shows more of an overall clouded grey-brown" (but note again that there is a lot of individual variation so again, it is only a minor field mark)...
brief note is made of the tail in that Audubon's tends to have more white than the Myrtle but "this varies with sex and age in both forms, adult males having the most white and immature females having the least"...
Yellow-rumped Warblers in winter plumage are being reported by many birders who are offering suet at their feeders. It seemed that two or three were in my yard all day today. Some of them are fairly easy to identify as either the "Audubon's" or "Myrtle" form, but this one has me puzzled. According to the Nat'l Geographic guide, the lack of a whitish line over the eye makes it an Audubon. According to Sibley, the prominent streaks on the breast make it a Myrtle. Maybe it's half-and-half.
This one seems to have more of an eyeline, and the wite of the throat extends farther back on the side of the neck, so that indicates that it is likely a Myrtle.
2 Comments:
Excellent photos of such sweet birds - thanks for sharing these - yes, An Almighty Creator indeed.
Not sure when you posted this but having recently tried to ID another Yellow-rumped Warbler, I thought some of my notes might help (and by the way, numerous have decried the Nat Geo descriptions as being inadequate for this species and in differentiating between the two northern subspecies auduboni and coronata...
my Peterson Advanced Birding has some very definitive discussion on the difference between the Myrtle vs Audubon... to summarise:
throat color can be tricky- bright yellow is a sure sign of Audubon, a bright white throat a sure sign of Myrtle "but many winter birds of either have pale buff or off-white throats" however on the Myrtle "the pale throat extends to the side of the neck, setting off the back edge of a dark ear patch" whereas on the Audubon's "the pale throat is usually smaller and more restricted, not spreading to the sides of the neck"...
further, "the dark ear patch almost always contrasts more on Myrtle: it is darker, set off more sharply against the throat and side of the neck" and Peterson's continues "often outlined by a pale eyestripe"- (by the way, Audubons can also have a faint stripe behind the eye so that is not a stand-alone mark)...
the breast pattern on a Myrtle "tends more toward narrow streaks on a whitish background" whereas an Audubon's "shows more of an overall clouded grey-brown" (but note again that there is a lot of individual variation so again, it is only a minor field mark)...
brief note is made of the tail in that Audubon's tends to have more white than the Myrtle but "this varies with sex and age in both forms, adult males having the most white and immature females having the least"...
hope this helps!
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