English and Scientific names:

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Dendroica nigrescens

Number of individuals: 

One - details such as sex, age, and general plumage could not be ascertained

 

Locality: LOUISIANA: 

Rapides Parish

 

Specific Locality:

428 Hickory Hill Drive, Boyce, Louisiana 71409 - Bluff overlooking Cotile Lake, east side of lake roughly half way between dam and causeway over SE arm of lake.

 

 

Date(s) when observed:

September 11, 2004

 

 

Time(s) of day when observed:  

Approximately 7:00 AM CDST

Reporting observer and address:

Jay V. Huner

Boyce, Louisiana

 

 

Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s):

 None

Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):

Light conditions were poor. Early morning light - shade. Bird silouetted against sky.

Optical equipment: 

Swift Binoculars - 10 x 42

 

Distance to bird(s): 

20 feet

Duration of observation:

Approximately 5 mintues 

Habitat: 

Rural yard - mixed hardwood/pine. Bird observed in oak tree.

 

Behavior of bird: 

The bird was feeding in middle branches of the tree. It was working in clusters of leaves staying 30-60 seconds in a cluster and then quickly moving to another nearby cluster.

 

Description:

I was beneath the bird looking up. The ventral side was white and I could see distinct white outer tail feathers. The body was "streaked" but I could discern no "coloration" because of the lighting. I saw a distinct white supercilium and a distinct white submoustacial stripe.

 

Voice:

Bird was silent.

Similar species:

The two species that I considered were Carolina Chickadee and Black-and-white Warbler. The white outer tail feathers and body morphology - more elongate rather than blocky - led me to eliminate Carolina Chickadee. The behavior led me to eliminate Black-and-white Warbler. That is, the did not circle the tree trunk or more "vertical" branches as a Black-and-white Warbler would have done.

Photographs or tape recordings obtained?

None

 

Previous experience with this species: 

I saw several Black-throated Gray Warblers in Arizona in April 04. The behavior of the bird I am reporting was similar to that of those birds seen in Arizona.

 

Identification aids:

At time of observation: None. I had other things to do and decided that whatever the bird was, I had seen enough characteristics to pick it out of a field guide fairly easily.

After observation: Sibley's Guide to Birds; National Geographic Field Guide to North American Birds; Lowery's Louisiana Birds (1974); Curson, Quinn, and Beadle - Warblers of the Americas, An Identification Guide; Thayer's Birds of North America (CD).

 

This description is written from: 

Initial notes were written about 12 hours after seeing the bird - from memory.

Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain: 

 

I am as positive as one can be based on the rarity of the bird and the lighting conditiions at the time. I recognize that the bird is "early" but we have had several unusually early "cold" fronts and there seem to be viable reports of very early American Goldfinches.

Reporter: 

Jay V. Huner

Date and time: 

September 16, 2004, 3:00 PM CDST