A few days back Ed Schneider posted a photo of a warbler for which he was unsure of the ID. In an off-list email conversation, he said the the consensus opinion was for female Common Yellowthroat. There has been no public discussion of the ID, so I am weighing in. I believe it is a Nashville Warbler. My reasoning: 1) the head is too gray for female Com. Yellowthroat, which should be brownish-olive. 2) the eye-ring is a little too bold, but head color & eye-ring are right for Nashville. 3) the yellow underneath is too extensive & even-toned for yellowthroat, which should be shaded from fairly bright in throat to dull yellow on lower breast. 4) culmen shape appears to be straight, unlike slightly down-curved for yellowthroat. The amount of yellow underneath & bill shape are good for Nashville. While Nashville Warblers in spring migration usually occur higher up in trees than the bird in the photo, which is in blackberry brambles, I often see fall migrant Nashvilles in low shrubby stuff including goldenrod & ragweed. So habitat shouldn't be an issue. Photo IDs are sometimes harder than in-life IDs, since there is only one angle per photo, no vocalizations or behavioral clues, etc. However, you can stare at the photo for as long as you want & analyze visible details. Apparently this would be the first summer record of a Nashville Warbler in TN, as Robinson (1990) lists none & I don't recall any since then. It could be a very late spring migrant or, more likely, an early fall migrant (perhaps a failed breeder) or a wandering non-breeder. Nashvilles do nest as far south as northern West Virginia. Comments welcome. Rick Knight Johnson City, TN ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Schneider To: tn bird Sent: 6/23/2012 3:39:54 PM Subject: [TN-Bird] Nashville Warbler (???) Bells Bend Park, Davidson Co. 23 June, 2012 I realize there are no summer records for this bird, and I wouldn't expect there to be. I of course thought I was photographing a female Common Yellowthroat, but the eye ring seemed WAY to strong compared to the female and first year yellowthroats I've seen. That being said, the bill shape doesn't scream Oreothylpis to me at all, and the habitat is of course all wrong for Nashville even in migration. Anyone care to share some thoughts on a bird that threw me for a small loop this morning? I imagine COYE can be extremely variable, and I'm still an advanced novice at best... always nice to get a photo of a questionable bird, however. Thanks, Ed Schneider Davidson Co.