I.D. please!

[Julie Kenward]

I caught up with this bird in the woods near my Missouri home in early October. I've looked in two bird books and I just can't make a positive I.D. - perhaps I have a female or juvenile here when the books are picturing males?

The closest thing I can find is a bird called an Ovenbird - a type of Thrush. The one pictured seems to have more pronounced stripes on his chest than my bird but he does have the white ring around his eye and the yellow patch near the side of his breast. I never did see the top of the bird clearly so I'm not sure of the main body color or the markings on the back of the bird.

Anybody got a guess?

[John Chardine]

Jules- It looks like a New World warbler to me. Ovenbirds are warblers too but I don't think this is one. It MAY be a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Fall warblers are a huge ID challenge. I'll let others chime in now!

[Dave Brown]

Hi All,

This is certainly a fall/juvenile plumaged Yellow-rumped Warbler. Many warblers acquire a radically different plumage in late summer after they have finished breeding and are getting ready to migrate. You will notice that at first many of these warblers look very similar,but with patience and practice you will learn to separate the different species. Now to the id.

You did well to know this is a warbler..but why? Look at the birds bill shape, compare it to other types of birds in your id guide.Compare it to the bills of flycatchers, Tanagers and Sparrows, look for the differences. Bill shape and size is a great place to start with any bird identification.warbler bills are characteristically pointy in shape and most often entirely black in color.While thrushes also have pointy bills, they are always much larger than warbler bills. Look a Robin, next time you see one, study the bill. American Robin is is a fairly typical thrush species and exhibits many of the characteristic of the Thrush family. Compare this to what you know about warblers.

I imagine when identifying this bird you were mainly focusing on the breast streaking and the white eye arcs. These eye arcs are somewhat brighter than I'm used to seeing in fall Yellow-rumps but sharpening could do that. Overnirds have complete.bold, eye-rings.Notice,this yellow-rump shows white semi-circles above and below the eye- these are commonly know as eye arcs. They are seen on other warbler species such as Northern Parula and Macgillivary's Warbler- they are even more defined in these species. Compare this to your bird here and perhaps Nashville and Connecticut Warlers, which have bold,complete eyerings.

Regarding the breast steaking- the streaking on this bird is mainly restricted to the breast sides and is fairly faint. Compare this to the dark ,bold, fully streaked underparts(excluding lower belly) of Ovenbirds. You would also notice that over bird has a rufous/orange patch on the center of its head- Yellow-rump lacks this.

When teaching new birds how to identify warblers I think the follwing is impotrant:

1) make sure it's a warbler(bill shape and size and overall size is important)
2) what is the predominant color of the bird- yellow,blue, green etc
3)does it have wing bars( some warblers do, some don't
4) does it have an eye-ring
5)leg color( some species have dark,some pale
6) tail- note length( distance beyond folded wingtips),as well as any marking on the underside. Some warblers tails are predominantly white, or dark underneath, some have comspicuous tail spots. Look again at the tail of the bird picture here- notice the tail spots.
7) behavior- note the birds behavior- is it flycatching, high in tree tops ( conifers or deciduous- note migrating warblers can be found most any habitat, more important in breeding season). Is it skulking in the undergrowth.

The above are just some things to consider. As I've said before there is no substitute for practice, but it certainly helps when you know what to look for. I'd suggest getting the Sibley guide to the birds of North America and pick a group of birds and look at a different one each day, or every couple days. You will be amazed at how much this will pay off when you hit the field!!

[Julie Kenward]

Great information Dave! I've only recently started to really try to I.D. birds and most have been easy to figure out (especially the ones in my backyard.) When I get out into open woods, though, that's when the trouble starts. I realize now that the two small birding books that friends have given me will get me started but not help in cases like this where plumage is changing and nothing quite matches what I'm seeing in books. I have learned from my local birdfood store owner to start as you suggested with beaks and overall size to rule out possibilities from there. As this is the first of ANY of its species that I have seen live and in person it really through me for a loop so thanks for all the great advice and the positive I.D.