Due to receiving multiple messages about the theoretical Whydah, I guess a little more info is called for. It was definitely not a Scissor-tailed or Fork-tailed Flycatcher. I've seen plenty of Scissor-tails in Texas and Central America. At first glance it reminded me of a Scissor-tail in flight only because of the distance and the long wavy tail. It landed 20 feet away and I got fantastic looks. The thick bright orange sparrow-like bill was immediately obvious and rules out the flycatchers. It very closely matches the Pin-tailed Whydah although the Whydah in the book looks like it has a slightly longer tail than the one I saw, plus the relatively minor differences I noted in my first message - no obvious black on the face, just the black cap, and the primaries showed as brownish, plus the Whydah picture looks like it has at least 4 feathers in the tail, and my bird only had 2 that I could see, although that might have been the angle I was looking from. I'm guessing it is an escapee.

I saw it at the Southeast corner of the main pond at the Fill and it flew off towards the southwest. I was immediately screened off by the willows at the southern edge of the pond and didn't see if it landed elsewhere in the Fill

John Wallace
jcwall224 at msn.com
John Wallace
jcwall224 at msn.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Cyd and John Wallace<mailto:jcwall224 at msn.com>
To: tweeters<mailto:tweeters at u.washington.edu>
Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 7:43 AM
Subject: Exotic at Montlake Fill - Pin-tailed Whydah?


I was at the main pond at the Fill at 7:30 today and was flabbergasted to see what I thought was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher flying towards me, although the flight pattern was weird for a flycatcher. As it got closer, I didn't have a clue what it was. It's body was approx. 4", with a white face and body, bright orange stout sparrow-like bill, a black cap and black back with black shoulders framing the white breast, brownish primaries, and it's most notable feature, 2 long tail feathers which were approx. 8" - twice the length of the body. It looked like a Pin-tailed Whydah in Birds of the West Indies, although I didn't see any black on the face, just the black cap, and the primaries showed as brownish. plus the Whydah picture looks like it has at least 4 feathers in the tail, and my bird only had 2 that I could see.

John Wallace
jcwall224 at msn.com