ML617920386

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Observation details

Seriously, this is one of the most intriguing and maddening species I have ever pursued. Plumage of old-world reed warbler, song of grasshopper sparrow, and habits/habitat of eurasian wren. Also -- one of the most difficult to actually find visually. I heard several individuals from this species every day and evening I birded the lower trail (up the valley from the visitor center), but for the life of me could not spot the bird. It's quite ventriloqual -- it sounds like it's singing (I use the term loosely) directly in front of you, but can be 50 feet away, and sometimes is actually behind you when it sounds like it's in front of you. The perfectly insect-like character of the song makes it easy to dismiss as "non-bird"; for the first 24 hours I seriously wondered if I was instead hearing an insect. Its coloration allows it to blend in perfectly with the leaf litter of the forest floor, where it assiduously forages. In fact, in my observation, it never actually flew or even jumped -- it simply crept along on the ground through the leaf litter, actively picking bugs off sticks and leaves. Nanaho finally pointed one out on the last morning when it was sunny, and sure enough, there it was, looking like a dark-tan, plain, unbarred wren creeping among the sticks and leaves. A remarkable species.

Technical information

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8.36 MB