On Nov 1, 2015, at 8:44 PM, whoffman@xxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi -
I'll begin by stating that personally I think the suggestion this is a hoax
is highly impolite and uncalled for.
Here are some thoughts toward an i.d.:
1. What is the bush (and therefore how big are the leaves?) The branching
pattern and appearance of the bark reminds me of Twinberry, or possibly the
landscaping shrub Wygelia. Most of the valley-bottom dogwoods have
straighter shoots. I cannot think of a shrub looking like this with small
enough leaves to make the bird mockingbird sized.
2. The pictures look like they were taken midday in bright sun. The color
of the larger stems looks really washed out which makes me unwilling to trust
the color of the bird's back. It could be grayish rather than blue.
3. So what warblers and warbler-sized birds have green or olive-colored
tails? I came up with 3 that IMO are not too too far from looking like this
bird: One thing to remember is that by 29 June there might be HY warblers
around in the seldom-illustrated juvenal plumage, which is generally lost
within a month or two, and which can be quite confusing. Common
Yellowthroat, MacGillivray's Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, and my favorite,
Nashville Warbler. In the photos with the head turned to the left, the color
of the lower part of the face does remind me of a young or female
yellowthroat, but not much of the rest of the bird looks right.
I do not have a good sense of the variation in juv. MacGillivray's, but it
would be good to hear from someone who works with them?
The main problem with Nashville Warbler is the apparent lack of an eyering,
but the photos most likely to show that have a twig across the face.
Anyway my two cents
Wayne
From: "glen" <gtaylor22@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Jeff Gilligan" <jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "obol" <obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 1, 2015 7:55:32 PM
Subject: [obol] Re: Green tail ID help
Not a joke, I'm the one who had a brain freeze and just tonight uploaded
these photos. Taken in La Center, WA. Just uploaded all five photos I took.
Here's a link to a pic of the entire bush:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95273919@N05/22670767486/in/dateposted-public/
Didn't look like any common yellowthroat I've ever seen. As you can see the
tail moves with the bird. Glad I'm not the only one who was stumped. Just
wish I had better quality photos and details.
Thanks,
Glen Taylor
Subject: Re: [obol] Green tail ID help
From: jeffgilligan10@xxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 2015 19:07:27 -0800
CC: obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: gtaylor22@xxxxxxxxxxx
I have no idea what that is….Am I having a brain freeze? What I see is a
rather bright green tail, some blue on the wing, a back and crown that are
dull greenish with indistinct streaks, and a white face and throat, a white
ventral area, a dark eye, and a fairly thin bill.
I also don't recognize the vegetation.
Where is La Center Bottoms? Near La Center, Washington? or somewhere exotic?
Are you playing a little joke on OBOL?
Jeff Gilligan
On Nov 1, 2015, at 6:30 PM, glen <gtaylor22@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I took this photo on June 29th at La Center Bottoms. Sorry, not great
quality. This bird was low in the bush (maybe 2' above the ground) at the
extreme range of my lens. Watched it for about 30 seconds, most of the time
with its back to me, when its twin joined it, coming up from below for about
5 seconds. Then they both flew into the grass underneath the bush, not to be
seen again. Long green tail, bluish gray back from top of head to tail,
darker on wings, completely white neck and underneath. Gray bill, black eye.
Hard to tell if there was any eyebrow or markings around eye. Please see link
below for pic:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95273919@N05/22071545334/in/dateposted-public/
I'm an avid but novice birder so any help with identification would be most
appreciated.
Thanks,
Glen Taylor
Newberg
