Re: The wren again. I've seen many very dull and indistinct Marsh Wrens out
of season that showed a dull but distinct eyeline and on which the back
stripes could scarecely be detected. They also appear out of normal habitat,
though I agree that Winter Wrens are more to be expected on a breakwater.

Gene Hunn, Seattle, hunnhome at accessone.com


At 02:53 PM 11/4/97 PST, you wrote:
>Hi tweeters.
>
>Thanks to all who responded to my plea for assistance in identifying the
>wren that I wrote about last week.
>
>After reading all of your replies, I now think that I likely saw a Winter
>Wren, but I'm still not certain, due to the length of the tail. I suppose
>that if there are Winter Wrens out there that have more than the stubby tail
>as depicted in the field guides that I have, then it certainly could have
>been a Winter Wren. There have been so many reports of Winter Wren lately,
>I'm sure to come across one that I can identify for sure.
>
>About the eye-stripe on the bird that I saw last week; it wasn't white like
>a Bewick's, or outlined like a Marsh's, but it was still distinct. I would
>call it a light to medium brown. Is that what "buffy" is? The dictionary
>that I have calls buff, "a light yellow", but my bird's stripe was more tan
>than yellow. I find the colour business very complicated. One step ahead of
>my Dad though, who thinks EVERYTHING is brown due to his colour blindness.
>
>I did go back to the exact spot that I saw the bird, at the same time of
>day, in similar conditions, in the hope of seeing it, or one of it's pals,
>but no luck.
>
>On my way there however, I believe I saw a Pacific Loon. Someone wrote a
>lovely account of a Pacific Loon over the weekend and I didn't get nearly so
>many of the subtle details, but I did notice the way the neck showed a very
>distinct straight line between the dark and the light. I have only ever been
>positive of Common Loon in the past or else loon (?). This bird caught my
>eye right away as being slightly different. Is this distinct division
>between the dark on the back of the neck and white on the front a reliable
>field mark for a Pacific Loon? I also thought that the dark on the back of
>the neck was darker than on the other loons that I've seen, but I suppose
>that that could just be the individual bird, not necessarily the difference
>between a Common or a Pacific. The whole head and neck seemed slightly
>slimmer than the loons that I usually see, but that could have been an
>illusion due to the smooth darkness of the bird. I hope that makes sense.
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