Christopher Hill writes -

<snip>
>As for the Yellow Warbler/American Redstart duo, one characteristic I used
>during my summer surveying breeding birds in Maine (warbler heaven,
>everyone should go sometime) was the more emphatic or explosive quality to
>the Redstart song. That and familiarity with about three or four
>representative songtypes from listening to a tape, and I got through the
>summer without ever mistaking one for the other (and yes, I did check
>visually every chance I got). Oh, now another detail is coming back - the
>tricky YEWA songs are the ones that end with a downward sweep - "sweet
>sweet sweet sweet tyew", instead of with the usual upsweep: "sweet sweet
>I'm so very sweet." But the "tyew" ending a YEWA song is never strongly
>accented; the downward sweep ending most AMRE songs always is.
<snip>

Hmmm... Our breeding Yellow Warbler race here in central P.G. _D. p.
morcomi_ has a songtype that *does* have a strongly accented downslurred
ending. Across the other side of the Rockies in the Peace River country of
n.e. BC, the breeding _amnicola_ race there does not have quite as strong
an ending. Either of these songtypes from either of these two races could
be confused with AMRE at times. However, the AMRE songs are usually
slightly thinner in quality and higher-pitched than those of YEWA (and
habitat often helps ion central BC, our Yellows being mostly riparian
willow/alder denizens rather than the preferred mixed woods of the
restarts). Just goes to show the great variation in YEWA songtypes.

And then there is the Magnolia Warbler/Am. Redstart problem....

- Jack



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