PHVI-2020-10 (Philadelphia Vireo) 1st round voting December 6, 2020

Accepted: 8 Not Accepted: 1 black lores, yellow throat and undertail coverts rule out Warbling Vireo

Although the photos submitted by Diane to the committee are decent and definitely adequate, Steve Kornfeld’s photos on eBird leave absolutely no doubt as to the ID https:ebird.orgchecklistS. The dark lores and yellowish ventrum, especially on the throat and upper breast, are conclusive, and eliminate any similar vireo species, especially a Warbling Vireo.

Warbling vireo is eliminated based on dark lores and more yellow on undersides, Red-eyed vireo is eliminated based on smaller bill and lack of upper dark line to eyebrow.

No comments

There are better photos on eBird, too. The dark lores, compact shape, dark cap, and yellow upper breast all look good for Philly. Can't believe this was a first for the Oregon coast!

I think I’m satisfied that the photos confirm this to be a Phillie Vireo. In an ideal world it would be nice to see the bird at additional angles, but from what we can see of the face in the two shots, particularly the dark line through the lore and eye, it appears to be wholly consistent with Phillie Vireo and not a good match for Warbling (or Red-eyed). Tennessee Warbler is, of course, the other species to be careful of, but the bird in Diana’s photos shows yellow undertail coverts as well as a yellow wash across the breast, whereas Tennessee should have whiter undertail coverts. The bill looks slight for a vireo, but probably not quite thin and pointy enough for a Tennessee. One other thing to note are the primary coverts, which appear to be darker than the primaries, creating a little dark patch, and this is supposedly a decent field mark for Philadelphia as opposed to Warbling Vireo. The written description suggests that the reporting observer, and apparently the other two observers, saw in the field the same characters that are shown by the photos, which helps boost confidence despite the upward angle of the photos.

No comments photo and excellent description support id

Nice photos

The bird seems to clearly be a vireo based on its bill size and shape. The dark line through the line and lores eliminates Warbling Vireo. The bird also has a narrower white eyestripe in front of the eye than would be expected for a Warbling Vireo. The bird lacks a black lateral crown stripe as would be expected on a Yellow- green Vireo or a Red-eyed Vireo. The bird lacks a black whisker line as would be expected on a Black- whiskered Vireo. Steve Kornfeld also took 2 photos of this bird which he posted to OBOL.

I believe the photo (along with the description) is diagnostic and rules out similar Red-eyed and Warbling vireos.

No comments

NOT ACCEPTED This one is pretty tough. The photos appear to show features that are consistent with Philadelphia Vireo (very dark, distinct loral line, dark remiges with a blackish triangle at the base of the primaries), and one that is not--and an important one--the throat appears pale, and certainly less yellow than the flanks. What is visible of the head pattern in general looks OK for Philadelphia, but it's hard to be certain without a clear look at the shape and relative color of the supercilium behind the eye (is it brighter behind the eye or brighter before and above the eye?). The shadows caused by the foliage could also play a part in accentuating or masking specific field marks. For example, are the lores really that dark relative to the rest of the head pattern or is it in artifact of light angle and shadowing? Does the shadowing actually make the throat appear paler than it looked in real life, or accentuate the yellow in the flanks and vent more? The tail is also hidden and seeing the bird from underneath makes it difficult to tell the shape and structure of this bird. These factors leave me a little short of the bar for acceptance, but it's a tough bird for sure.

PHVI-2020-10 (Philadelphia Vireo) 2nd round vote – February 28, 2021

Accepted: 9 Not Accepted: 0

ACCEPTED, VERIFIED Thanks to [another committee member] for supplying the ebird report of the same bird from the same location from a different observer in his first-round comments (https://ebird.org/checklist/S74131980). Those photos clearly show a Philadelphia Vireo and remove any doubts I had over the identity of this bird. The fact that other photos of the same bird appear to show different characteristics certainly gives pause in identifying difficult species from one or two poor photos in difficult lighting conditions!

All field marks support the ID (see my first-round comments). Addressing [another committee member’s] reservations about the lack of yellow in the throat: there are excellent photos on eBird by Steve Kornfeld that show a lot more yellow than apparent in Diana's photos, so the pale throat in her pics is probably an artifact of lighting. In addition, a photo search on Macaulay showed a wide range of variety in the throat color of late summer/fall PHVIs, and I think this one falls well within the range of Philly.

I see there was one dissenting vote in the first round. In response to the associated comments, the breast looks appropriately yellow to me. I think the flanks and undertail coverts look yellowy due to the angle and perhaps due to the reflection from the green leaves, but the breast still looks classic for a Philadelphia Vireo. It didn't influence my vote at all as these photos are diagnostic, but interestingly it was a good fall for Philadelphia Vireos on Northern California coast.

Although the photograph raises some questions (e.g. how yellow is the throat really?, is the supercilium brighter behind the eye or in front of the eye?), the observer's description addresses those questions adequately. Furthermore, to my eyes, the throat and the flanks both appear yellow of similar intensity in the photo.

I continue to feel that this bird is Philadelphia Vireo for the reasons provided during the first round.

Nothing to add from previous comments.

As stated before, excellent written description and supported with photo.

I certainly understand [another committee member’s] hesitancy on this one, as I too wanted to see the bird from other angles and wondered whether we’re getting a fully accurate picture of the plumage colors and field marks amid the dappled sun and shadows in the submitted photos. However, I continue to feel that the submitted photos and description offer enough evidence for Philadelphia Vireo to feel good about the identification. I do think the dark lore stripe is for real, and the throat I think has enough yellow, and that little triangle of dark primary coverts seems to be for real as well. Overall the bird is really quite yellow and I’m not sure I can recall seeing a Warbling Vireo ever look this yellow underneath. In addition, as others mentioned, there are three photos from two other observers on eBird, and these show the head and the considerable extent of yellow more clearly. So for me this ID passes muster. [Another committee member] is right: we were way overdue for a coastal record of this species.

When you combine Steve Kornfeld's photos with Diane Byrne's photos to see the bird from various angles there is no doubt that this bird was a Philadelphia Vireo.

Diana's photos Significantly buttressed by those included on Steve Kornfeld's ebird checklist of the the bird are diagnostic.

Steve Kornfeld's photos clearly demonstrate that this is a Philadelphia Vireo