Now that Andy has berated himself:

1) How many rarities have slipped away because the discoverers
were afraid they might be wrong? Andy, thanks for
alerting us to the possibility of a Canada Warbler!

2) The number of rarities a birder discovers is directly
proportional to the time they spend in the field. By the
sweat on his brow, Andy entitles himself to a few more
rarities than many of the rest of us.

--Jerry <tangren at wsu.edu>


-----Original Message-----
From: TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu
[mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Andy Stepniewski
Sent: Friday, July 31, 1998 7:42 AM
To: TWEETERS
Subject: Canada Warbler in Wapato-NO


Tweeters,

Denny Granstrand was viewing what was probably ( I was down the lane and
did not see the bird he was looking at) the bird I called a Canada Warbler
north of Wapato WA within one hour of my sighting yesterday (30 July). He
noted a warbler which fit the plumage pattern and size of a Canada Warbler
from mid-belly forward (eye-ring, yellow throat, gray breast band, yellow
breast and upper belly, no wing bars), but was troubled by a patch of white
on its lower belly. The bird he observed had a distinct yellow undertail
coverts, clearly wrong for a Canada Warbler. He suggested the bird might be
a Nashville Warbler.

After deliberation, I conclude I made a mistake on this report. The bird
probably was not a Canada Warbler but a atypical patterned Nashville
Warbler. I believe I also saw white somewhat forward of the undertail
coverts on the lower belly. The song I heard was probably uttered a few
feet from me, thus making it sound louder. Singing being out-of-season, and
being loud and piercing, made me think of a rarity. At very close range,
the song of a Nashville also probably has a "jumpy" quality.

I was breaking some of Dennis Paulson's memorable axioms regarding
rarities: 1- "true rarities are truly rare and seldom encountered"; and 2-
"consider the common species first."

Andy Stepniewski
Wapato WA