Hi Jay – I really appreciate your analysis, and taking the time to make these detailed observations. You’re obviously well-versed, and those are the opinions I’m looking for; however, since I saw the bird in real-time, and there were certain field marks that really stood out to me that I’ve never seen on any Warbling Vireo over many years, I still think it was a Philadelphia. I’ll blame it on my frantic photography attempts & poor lighting achieved. To your points, the eye-line on this bird was noticeably dark – darker than I’ve ever seen on a Warbling; the black line also WAS in front of the eye (best shown in #2, but also obvious on the bird in real-time; this should distinctively say it is a Philadelphia, not Warbling), the chest was yellow (pic 2 alludes to this better, since it’s front-on), along with the flanks/vent, and the dark wing-edge on this bird shows in Sibley’s specifically for the Philadelphia, but not for the Warbling Vireo. I can’t address a feather angle on a hurried shot, but the black edging to me is much more definitive; I’m sorry I didn’t mention that in my original notes. So, my photos are obviously not up to par, but I’ve seen a lot of Warbling Vireos in my lifetime, and this looked completely different in real-time. But, I also can’t say that I’m familiar specifically with a ‘fresh late summer/fall Warbling”, and Sibley’s doesn’t make a distinction. But none of the Warbling Vireos in my Sibley’s field guide or iBird Plus app show a bird that looked like this, whereas the Philadelphia Vireo in the field guides match it. I also looked up images on the Internet for both birds. I think maybe the biggest definitive thing for me is the very definite slate-gray cap on my bird, that was distinctively separated from the back color. In every Warbling Vireo picture I found, there is a lack of distinction between head color and back color. In the pictures on the Internet, I saw huge variation in the patterns of yellow vs white on the front of the birds, so I think the best distinguishing field marks in this case are the dark black line that does go in front of the eye, and the strong distinction between head and back colors. Anyone else want to weigh in on this? Thanks again Jay… and a good night to all…JB
Sent from Mail
________________________________
From: ible@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2018 8:21:09 PM
To: ible@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [IBLE] Philadelphia Vireo ? Need ID confirmation assistance, please – asap
Hi Jonathan
Delayed reply because your message just made it to my inbox. I hate to burst your bubble but this bird looks good for a young Warbling Vireo (which are the brightest/most contrasty version of this species that we see because they’re in fresh plumage July to September whereas adults arrive in May & leave by August in quite worn/ faded plumage) and here are several reasons:
* the eye-line isn’t black enough – on Philadelphia, it should be darker than the cap, and distinctly dark in front of the eye
* the chest isn’t yellow enough – in particular, Philadelphia should be brightest on the center of the chest whereas this bird seems equally yellowish-white, or maybe the flanks are subtly brighter
* beak too long (though this one is hard to judge & I wouldn’t rely solely on this)
* and, for the finer details, on your image #1 you can actually make out the reduced primary 10 (barely longer than the primary coverts) as it slightly hangs down from the folded wing – this is a feather that Warbling has and Philadelphia lacks
You are far the from the first person to jump at a fresh late summer/fall Warbling … and I was a bit tempted when I saw the thumbnail shots pop up, including one view (image #3) which suggests a shorter tail (though image #1 shows that the tail isn’t so short).
I hope this helps/makes sense,
Jay