Tweeters,

The song descriptions posted by Martyn for these 3 warbler species are
accurate, if somewhat confusing.

Gene's comments sound partly serious and partly tongue-in-cheek. For
example, Black-throated Grays are rarely seen 150 feet up in a tree,
because they prefer oak woodlands and second-growth mixed forest where
the trees are much less than 100 feet tall. (Admittedly, my life
Hermit Warbler was 150 feet up in a Douglas-fir top at Seaquest State
Park, and stayed long enough for a brief scope view.)

I find that I can distinguish Black-throated Grays from Townsend's at
least 90% of the time (in areas where Hermits are not found) by the
fact that B-t. Gray songs are lower-pitched and buzzy-sounding, and
Townsend's are higher-pitched and more sibilant or wheezy-sounding.
Occasionally, I miscall a singing bird and discover that it's the
other species. The chip-notes of the two species are indistinguishable
to me, although the B-t. Gray call seems a bit louder or more
emphatic.

Where Hermit Warbler enters the equation, the situation gets much more
confusing. Although the "fast song type" with the 2 slow notes at the
end is distinctive in most of the Hermit's range, it doesn't help in
the southern Washington Cascades (south of Mount Rainier) where
Townsend's and Hermit hybridize extensively.

Knowing the breeding ranges of the 3 species can help in
identification. East of the Cascades, only Townsend's is expected.
Hermit Warblers are mainly in SW Washington, and are rare north of
King and Mason Counties. In SW Washington, all 3 species can occur,
although Townsend's becomes rare as a breeding species in parts of the
lowlands (replaced by Hermit), and is seen there mainly as a migrant.
Check the breeding ranges in "Breeding Birds of Washington State", or
as shown on the WDFW Gap Analysis website.

Good question, Ken-- the answer is not an easy one!

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net


----- Original Message -----
From: Eugene and Nancy Hunn <enhunn at comcast.net>
To: <mstew at naturesound.org>; <kenw at cablespeed.com>; 'Tweets'
<tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 28, 2004 6:23 AM
Subject: Re: Song ID? black-thr gray, Townsends, Hermit


Song ID? black-thr gray, Townsends, HermitTweeters,

Having read the "adequate description" Martyn has forwarded one can
only conclude that you can never be sure if it's Black-throated Gray,
Townsend's, Hermit, or a hybrid just from hearing it, so you have to
spend twenty or thirty minutes with your neck in a painful crook
looking 150 feet straight up in the fir in hopes of a definitive
glimpse. That's been my experience.

Gene Hunn.