Subject: Re: Bird ID help, please
Date: Oct 17 12:00:11 1998
From: "Michael & Janka Hobbs" - MJCT_Hobbs at email.msn.com


Deanie - a B&W warbler would be a rare, but not unheard of, sighting for Seattle. In 1996-97, a female B&W wintered at the arboretum. If the crown was entirely white, B&W Warbler is perhaps the most likely. However, it is always risky to ID from plumage only, especially where white is concerned. There is always the possibility of partial albinism, in which large areas of feathers may grow in white. You need to verify through shape, behavior, and things like bill shape, and bill and leg color.

A Black-and-white Warbler should act quite a bit like a nuthatch (much more nuthatch-like than warbler-like). You might also want to look at pictures of B&W warbler in other books. The Golden guide has a great picture of a female, in a very different pose than in the NGS guide.

A couple of times, at Marymoor, we have seen a partially albino Song Sparrow. The extensive white on the head, shoulders, and neck makes ones heart beat quickly for a few moments. Combined with pale overall coloration, thoughts of Buntings fill the mind. But the fact that the bird's shape and movements are so obviously Song Sparrow quickly deflates ones sails. And of course if it sings...

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== MJCT_Hobbs at msn.com

-----Original Message-----
From: DShepgolf at aol.com <DShepgolf at aol.com>
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu <tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Date: Friday, October 16, 1998 9:48 PM
Subject: Bird ID help, please


>Hi folks -
>
>I'm a pretty new birder and am looking for some help on a bird I saw yesterday
>here in Seattle. I'm on the only person who saw it and have nagging doubts
>I've ID'd it correctly. When the rains stopped around dusk, a number of birds
>came into my backyard. Among them, a flock of 15 or so robins and 1 varied
>thrush, a fox sparrow and another small bird. At first I thought it was a
>nuthatch, when I saw it land on the cedar, it twisted and spiraled down for
>just a moment. Then I thought it was a chickadee, because I could see that
>there was no brown, only black and white. But the crown was entirely white,
>except for black on the sides. It had so much white that I thought it could
>not have been a chickadee. It flew into a shrub and when it came back out a
>minute or so later, I could see it had a completely white throat and chest.
>There was a lot of white on the wings as well. Then it flew out of sight.
>This was all without binoculars, so maybe I just didn't see it properly. But,
>there are a number of chickadees here, and I'm certain there was a difference
>- No black on the throat or crown.
>
>The only thing that looked even close in the NGS guide was the B&W Warbler or
>the Snow Bunting in breeding plumage, and the latter seems unlikely,right?
>But according to the map in the book, Seattle is way out of it's range. Am I
>way off base here? If it's not that, what might it be? Thanks in advance for
>your assistance.
>
>Deanie
>Seattle - Wedgewood
>