clip

>Don,
>
> If the bird has yellow undertail coverts, it is conclusively not a
>Tennesee Warbler! Fall Tennessees can look very yellow on the chest, flanks,
>face etc, but they always have obviously white undertail coverts. As well,
>the facial pattern is striking showing a dark eye-line and paler
>supercilium, they do not show a noticeable eye-ring. The description that
>you give sounds like that of an Orange-crowned Warbler of the 'celata'
>subspecies, the interior/eastern form. Most of the Orange-crowns on the
>coast are of the yellower 'lutescens' form which is much more yellow than
>'celata'. Tennessee Warbler is also quite different in shape than an
>Orange-crown, due to their noticeably short tails. Another possibility you
>should think about is Virginia's Warbler which has bold yellow undertail
>coverts, grey head, and pale eye-ring. However, it tends to have a grey
>back, conspicuously wags its tail and may show some yellow on the chest
>(this is not always noticeable). I hope that the photos turn out!
>

Thanks for the info. I had made the suggestion to Adrian that it might be
another race of O-C (celata) as you mention. The response was: this is not
an Orange-crowned warbler. I also failed to mention that the bird was noted
to be rather skulking. I did not think this was a behaviour of Tennessee
warbler either.

The frost has been heavy around here, morning temperature -5 degrees, I may
not have the opportunity to see this bird on the weekend. Then again, -5 in
Port Alberni could translate into +1 degrees for Tofino! It's only a little
over an hour drive to the tropics!

dcecile at cln.etc.bc.ca.
Cheers,

Don Cecile
Port Alberni, B.C. Canada
dcecile at cln.etc.bc.ca.