Matt,

 

The bird is in full sun and that is washing out the head and back contrast.
While the general appearance of it is very much like Cassin's, I don't think
it would be possible to make a case for it unless Nico has some other photos
at different angles and in different light. One can still see a reasonably
sharp division between the gray and greenish on the rear portion of the face
and to me this does not suggest anything but the brightest Cassin's. The
bird looks overall bright like a Blue-headed.

 

Nonetheless, as Matt points out, it is a bird to watch for in Maryland and
surely overlooked!

 

Best,

 

Marshall 

 

-- 

-------------------------------------------------
Marshall J. Iliff
West Roxbury, MA
miliff AT aol.com
-------------------------------------------------
eBird/AKN Project Leader
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850
http://www.ebird.org
http://www.avianknowledge.net
-------------------------------------------------

 

From:  [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2007 12:11 PM
To: ; ; 
Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Cylburn 9/29 - odd Blue-headed Vireo?

 

 

Nico,

Your Blue-headed Vireo looks very interesting.  There is a very weak
contrast between the blue head and throat that is usually a characteristic
of Cassin's Vireo (would be a first state record!).  I am very unfamiliar
with Cassin's Vireo (only ever seen 1), but I see a lot of Blue-headed
Vireos and this one strikes me as strange.  I would very much like to hear
the opinions of others on this bird.  Great pic!

Matt Hafner
Blacksburg, VA

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Nico Sarbanes <>
To: 
Sent: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:22 am
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Cylburn 9/29

Went to Cylburn this morning from around 8:45 to 10:45.  Best bird was a






Blue Headed Vireo (new bird for me) that was hopping around in the tall






bushes and trees right in front of the parking area.  I was able to snap a






couple quick pics of it, but it wasn't the most cooperative bird.  Other






sightings included two Redstarts, two Magnolias,three Black-Throated Greens,






two Parulas, one Rose Breasted Grosbeak,and bunches of house finches and






mockingbirds.  If you want to see a few of the pics I got, they're at:













http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicobirdphotos/













Nico Sarbanes






Baltimore






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