ML302460891

Age and sex

Adult Male - 1

Media notes

Adult male Mourning Warbler found earlier in the day by Tom Wurster and here photographed by Curtis A. Marantz on 3 June 2019 at the Silver Saddle Ranch and Club, Galileo Hill, Kern County, California.

Observation details

Tom found this bird earlier in the day, but it then vanished for several hours before he and others managed to relocate it in the same general area just before we arrived. As such, when we walked up and Tom immediately pointed out the warbler as it perched about a meter above a small puddle of water under trees at the west end of the tent campground. The warbler then dropped to the water to bathe for a short time before flying off. A half-hour later Matt and I relocated this bird when it dropped from a small tree down to the ground amid herbaceous growth just west of the berm, from which it moved to trees closer to where we initially saw it. Others heard this bird sing a few songs prior to our arrival, but it was silent during our visit. This was a relatively large warbler that had a large bill, a rounded head, a plump body, and a medium-length tail. The bill was conspicuously long bill and relatively stout as it tapered little along a straight culmen from a base that was deep for a warbler to a tip that was more broadly pointed than those of most warblers, but I had only an impression that the bill would have extended backward on the face to a point behind the eye. The forehead was sloping and the crown was smoothly rounded on a head that seemed large for a warbler. The neck was short and inconspicuous, and the body was plump, full-chested, and with a posture that was closer to horizontal than diagonal. I thought the wings were of medium length, but I failed altogether to note additional detail of wing shape, I never clearly saw the length of the undertail coverts, and I had only an impression that the tail was about as long as the body without the head and neck, which is relatively short for a warbler. I further thought the tail was parallel-sided, relatively slim, and seemingly with a square tip. The legs were at least relatively long, but their mass was unremarkable for a warbler of this size. My views of the plumage patterns were more than sufficient to identify this bird, yet insufficient to note some of the finer details. Quite conspicuous was a slate-gray hood that was sharply demarcated from both the dark green of the back and the deep yellow of the abdomen. I studied the head pattern carefully to note that there was a diffuse region of darker coloration in the lores that connected the base of the bill with the eye, but there was no suggestion whatsoever of pale crescents above or below the eyes on a face that was unmarked and generally a dark, slate-gray in color. The chin and at least most of the throat were slate-gray, and thus contrasting with a broad, black band across the upper breast that was curved at either side served to accentuate the lower edge of the gray hood. Below this band, which was contained within the hood, the lower part of the breast and the entire belly were a bright, lemon-yellow in color. I further noted that the sides and flanks were washed with dark olive, but I did not see the undertail coverts or the underside of the tail at all well. I noted quite clearly that the back and scapulars were a dark green in color and unmarked, but I noted little contrast between the back and the wings, which appeared to be generally similar in color. This bird clearly lacked wingbars or other obvious markings on the coverts, but I cannot now remember clearly if the remiges showed any contrast between fringes that were similar in color to the back and what may have been darker centers. The exposed wingtips did however appear to be a bit darker than the rest of the wing. I thought the upperside of the tail was dark and not contrasting strongly with the color or pattern on the wings. I thought the bill was mostly quite dark, but I also noted a pinkish or fleshy region that may have been either along the cutting edges of one or both mandibles, or possibly instead, on the lower mandible. The eyes were dark brown and the legs and feet were a dark pinkish or flesh in color.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Lens

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

ISO

800

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire

f-stop

f/6.3

Shutter speed

1/200 sec

Dimensions

796 pixels x 548 pixels

Original file size

724.62 KB