[obol] Re: Are we sure there are subspecies of Yellow-throated Warbler
- From: Hendrik Herlyn <hhactitis@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "rabican1@xxxxxxxxx" <rabican1@xxxxxxxxx>, "obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2013 13:29:15 -0800 (PST)
For what it is worth, I managed to get two very blurry undertail shots of the
warbler today, which can be seen here:
http://flic.kr/s/aHsjNsR9P3
It looks to me like there might be a slightly darker area between tail and
coverts, which - according to Dunn & Garrett (Peterson Warblers Guide), could
be indicative of the dominica subspecies, but, based on their poor quality, my
photos may be inconclusive.
Curious to hear what others think.
Hendrik
__________________________
Hendrik G. Herlyn
Corvallis, OR
"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
-- Gary Snyder
________________________________
From: Bob Archer <rabican1@xxxxxxxxx>
To: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, December 3, 2013 12:27 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Are we sure there are subspecies of Yellow-throated Warbler
I would add that anyone seeing this bird should concentrate on the undertail
color, and does the white go all the way up to the coverts or is there a dark
area between the white tail and white coverts. I think Doug mentioned this but
have not heard any reports on this feature.
I hope it hangs around until next Tues. I am heading down to OSU that day.
Bob
On Dec 3, 2013, at 12:17 PM, Jay Withgott <withgott@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Thanks to Bob Archer for pointing out this research. I've followed up, and
> it seems that the author has since published the research from his thesis in
> two peer-reviewed papers:
>
> * 2008 Paper in Condor:
> http://www.californiabirds.org/members/McKay%202008%20-%20Phenotypic%20variation%20in%20Dendroica%20dominica.pdf
>
> * 2009 Paper in J. Avian Biology:
> http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1600-048X.2009.04503.x/abstract
>
> Essentially the take-home message is that the subspecies are NOT clear-cut in
> their differences, and perhaps should not even be named subspecies. Some of
> the key field marks seem to be clinal, and most of the variation occurs
> within populations, not between populations. Comparing the genetic and
> phenotypic data suggests that the bird's present distribution is a result of
> rapid expansion, and that phenotypic differences may be a result of selection
> in differing environments, but those differences have not become anywhere
> near fixed.
>
> From my very quick read, this seems to be high-quality research, and shows
> that the "subspecies" are even more murky than most people had previously
> thought. Thus we may never be able to confidently put a name or region of
> origin on an isolated vagrant individual like our Ankeny bird.
>
> However, the fact that there is an apparently fairly strong geographic cline
> in lore color and bill length still would indicate that for a vagrant bird
> like ours, lore color and bill length ARE at least suggestive of origin, and
> that a bird with yellow lores and long bill more than likely comes from
> further southeast than a bird with white lores and shorter bill.
>
> Thanks, Doug and Jack for your photos, which along with Mary's seem to show a
> fairly yellow and long-billed bird, and to Dave for the terrific Birdfellow
> collection showing some of the variation in these field marks.
>
> Jay Withgott, Portland
>
>
>
>
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