ML59516521

Age and sex

Adult Male - X

Media notes

This presumed adult male White-eyed Vireo on the basis of its song was initially found on 21 May 2017 by Susan Smith and photographed here rather poorly by Curtis A. Marantz on 27 May 2017 in the Point Loma neighborhoods, San Diego County, California.

Observation details

We arrived today to find another birder who had heard the continuing vireo a few minutes before we arrived, yet the vireo remained quiet for another half-hour before singing several times and again going quiet at 1:09 pm. Roughly 45 minutes later, at 1:46 pm, this bird sang again for a couple of minutes before going quiet again for a short period of time, but over the next half-hour the bird sang intermittently and occasionally showed itself as it foraged in the upper levels of the relatively low yet densely vegetated trees. The song, which I would have transcribed as “chipeta-purweeo-chip” was both relatively loud and distinctive, and in addition to this song, the vireo gave a scold that was essentially a “chur, chur, chur.” That this bird moved slowly amid dense vegetation made it difficult to see, and the breezy conditions made the search far more challenging than likely would have been the case under calm conditions. We last saw this bird at 2:15 pm, but I doubt it moved far. This was a relatively small bird yet it was noticeably larger and stockier than an Orange-crowned Warbler that was in the same area, and in both respects, it was probably more like that of a Pacific-Slope Flycatcher that was also seen in the same trees despite its rather different behavior. I further noted on the vireo a short bill that was both stouter than that of a warbler throughout its length and with a blunt tip. The forehead and crown were rounded on a head that seemed large in proportion to the body. The neck was short and stocky, and the body was noticeably plump, but because this bird was always seen overhead, I was unable to determine its posture. I also failed to notice both the primary projection and the placement of the wingtips relative to the tail, which was of medium-length, slightly flared, and with a jagged and seemingly worn tip. I saw no details on either the legs or feet. This was a subtly patterned bird, yet for a vireo it was relatively colorful. Surrounding the eyes were the broad and seemingly diffuse spectacles that combined yellow feathering in the supraloral region and around the eyes. I cannot recall seeing the forehead clearly, but the crown and auriculars appeared dingy though I was unable to determine if they were more grayish or olive. I was more confident that the back was olive in color and that the wings were dusky with at least one relatively narrow, yet well-defined, wingbar that was produced by whitish tips to the greater coverts. The remiges were fringed paler, which resulted in a striped pattern to the rear part of the wing that was generally indistinct yet most conspicuous as a broad, whitish edge to at least one of the innermost secondaries. Contrasting with the darker upperparts, the throat and breast were a cream-colored to dull whitish, but the belly and undertail coverts seemed even dingier, and the flanks were washed with pale yellow from the shoulder along the lower edge of the wing. The underside of the tail was uniformly dark. The bill was dark gray, seemingly with the cutting edges paler, and the eyes were dull whitish, but I never clearly saw the legs or feet.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

ISO

500

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/8.0

Shutter speed

1/800 sec

Dimensions

1746 pixels x 1182 pixels

Original file size

1.96 MB