ML25913611
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Observation details
Was confusing and sounded like a Black-throated Gary Warbler. Here are a few comments from Steve Greow. That actually sounds like a Townsend's Warbler to me. They have a similar buzzy or wheezy quality (and both species are variable in their songs), but Townsend's usually has a different song structure--often a few buzzy notes, then a couple of short notes, and they often seem to end sort of abruptly. Here is one example that has a similar structure to yours, though not quite identical: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Townsends_Warbler/sounds We'll probably be getting a wave of migrant Townsend's pretty soon, and hearing that song in various places. Also Steve's comments from Simon's recording I really think it is a Townsend's. Both species vary a lot in pitch,buzziness, etc. In general, yes, Black-throated Grays tend toward lower pitched, buzzier songs, but there is a lot of overlap. A common Townsend's variation has a sort of abrupt, almost unfinished quality to the end of the song, which I think I hear in your recording, but they are among the more difficult warbler songs to separate. Townsend's will likely be increasing in numbers soon (and singing more), as spring migrants start passing through, and that will be a good opportunity to listen to all the variation in their songs. Back in the early 2000's, we had an extensive set of spring surveys in the local forests to help map out bird distribution in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I remember several discussions with some of the best local "by ear" birders (David Suddjian, Kumaran Arul, and others), about how much of a problem it was sorting out the buzzy warblers, with late migrant Townsend's overlapping with both migrant and breeding Black-throated Grays and Hermits. Books say the Hermits are thinner and less buzzy, but in reality some songs of all three can be pretty similar in quality. But the song pattern in your recording sounds more typical for Townsend's, and again that is the most likely species right now.
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