I was at Logan Springs this morning, having arrived shortly after Doug Zollner. We took slightly different routes to avoid impeding each other, but I did talk to him as he was finishing. One of the birds he mentioned was Warbling Vireo. I was only a few minutes into the wooded section. After walking the circuit, I returned to the most productive part of the preserve. A fairly open area with shrubs and small trees in old fishery ponds.
A warbler appeared, extensively yellow below, but more intensivelfy soon the throat. A female Common Yellowthroat. Then another bird appeared its much the same pattern, but this was a Vireo. Okay I thought, Warbling or Philadelphia. The bird was quite yellow below and definitely had a bright yellow throat. I remember studying the crown color of Warbling Vireos at Siloam Lake, this bird’s
crown was definitely darker. The bird was extremely cooperative. It stayed for over a minute in a tree a few yards away and just above eye level. It then flew a few feet a repeated the performance. I could not however find the bird with the camera.
The bird sounds like a perfect Philadelphia Vireo, but when I looked at the lores, I saw no obvious markings, I had a long time to look and thought I detected a smudge , but that could of been wishful thinking.
The darker crown, and bright yellow throat, made me think it had to be a Philadelphia. I looked at pictures of Philadelphia and the dark lores are not always apparent. I thought the bird was small-billed. It was not noticeably smaller than a Warbling when perched, but seem so in flight.
Can Warbling Vireos ever have a bright yellow throat?
