Thanks Glen,
It's really helpful to have some context, and I apologize for my use of
the word "hoax," which was ill-considered.
Since you also mentioned that you saw the bird's "twin," it seems
unlikely that this is a rare bird, or escaped exotic, or a common bird
in an aberrant plumage (such as Common Yellowthroat that's lacking
pigment).
To me, comparing with the inflorescence of the grasses that show up in
the field of view, and the size of the leaves (on the idea that this is
viburnum), the bird looks as if it might be smaller than some of us have
assumed.
Going with Mike Patterson's idea that the green "tail" might be a leaf,
then I'd like to suggest the idea of Warbling Vireo. Those would be
common in that habitat, and would match everything else including the
lack of distinct markings.
Good birding,
Joel
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
On Mon, 2015-11-02 at 01:06 -0500, obol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
From: glen <gtaylor22@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [obol] Re: Green tail ID help
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 2015 06:05:19 +0000
In response to Joel's questions:
Photos taken at 7:56 am June 29th, 2015 at La Center Bottoms, La
Center, WA. Nice sunny day. Stopped here for my favorite pastime
(birding) on the way to Longview.
Even though it was far away, I took these photos because the bird did
not look familiar and thought I could use them later for ID help if
needed. I originally was thinking green-tailed towhee, but rejected
that after checking pictures in my Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of
North America. Then considered Tennessee and Nashville Warbler but too
many differences for those as well.
Description: 3-4" long greenish yellow tail, bird looked to be 8-10"
in length total but hard to tell because of distance. Bluish gray from
top of head to tail and sides, slightly darker wings. Some greenish
yellow on back. White face, lower neck and body. Gray beak. No
distinct markings on face or wings that I could make out.
The bush was in a tall grassy meadow about 50 yards from the trail.
It took me so long to post these photos because I've only recently
joined the OBOL website and I had forgotten about them until looking
through old photos this evening. This is actually my first posting.
Didn't realize it would be such a stumper.
Thank you all for your help.
Glen
