ML619004712
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
- Playback
- Playback not used
Observation details
Continuing, found by Jake this AM (May 12). Singing at top of sycamore trees along the water. Bright yellow throat and chest, white wing bars,, blue/gray head. Stunning!!!! Will post photos. CD notes: Incredible find by Jake Xia this morning - first LA County record and second CA state record. After parking near the coordinates provided by Jake in his ebird list, I headed northeast and joined birders in hearing and seeing the Tropical Parula moving near the top third of a few sycamores. This warbler is similar to a Northern Parula, but with no white near the dark eye area, yellow underparts extending from throat down chest and belly stopping near legs, then becoming white through undertail coverts, lacking the rusty "necklace," instead showing a tinge of orange-yellow near throat. Deep blue head, two short white wingbars on bluish wings. Olive green back seen in photos. Lower mandible orange, upper bill dark. Tail with a dark upperside and whitish underside. This warbler was heard more than seen, frequently singing, although less so as the day progressed. To my untrained ears, the song started like a Yellow Warbler song but quickly turned into a rapid trill with an embellishment near the end. It was difficult to know definitively whether the bird was calling since the call is similar to Yellow Warbler's call and they were also present. For the first half of my visit, the warbler travelled around from sycamores and oaks seen from the main road looking north towards the stream (coordinates provided by Jake), and also at oaks and conifers on the north (other) side of the stream, where there is a trail (bird seen on both sides of trail). During the second half of the visit, the warbler didn't switch trees as much, vocalized less frequently and stayed high in oaks for extended periods, mostly on the south side of the main road in a stretch ranging approximately a quarter mile (southwestern end of the stretch at 34.1600435, -117.8258686 -- seen a few times at this deodar and oak/sycamores across the road; northeastern end beyond Jake's coordinates, very high in oaks behind the first layer of trees). Later in the visit, others reported that the warbler was wet from presumably taking a bath near the stream. On several occasions, we observed the parula and another bird chase each other (not sure who was chasing who). Likely breeding Yellow Warblers in the area that may feel territorial. Update: females are not known to sing per Birds of the World.
Additional species
Technical information
- Recorder
- Microphone
- Accessories
- Original file size
- 3.36 MB