An Audubon's Warbler (Setophaga coronata auduboni), currently a subspecies
of Yellow-rumped Warbler, continues today along Glenn's Creek below UNCA
in Asheville. This bird was first found/photo'd/ID'd by Till Dohse on
Friday, and has been seen in the same area on and off since then. I took this
photo this afternoon. This seems to be the first WNC record of this Western
subspecies.
It has rarely been seen in the middle of the state, and a little less rarely on
the coast.
In 1973, Audubon's Warbler and Myrtle Warbler were lumped together (with two
Middle
America birds) as a single Yellow-rumped Warbler species. DNA research seems to
support
re-splitting them; as David Sibley writes "They certainly seem at least as
distinct as
Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles". If that happens, eBird records for this bird
would
become a separate species retroactively.
Jay Wherley
Asheville, NC
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