Over Christmas week, my wife and I enjoyed sunny, warm, and rather birdy Jamaica. We stayed at a Sandals resort on the south coast, and during the week, we ventured on a nature excursion, chalking up more than a dozen endemics and some other lifers as well.

One of the more interesting birds, though, was a warbler in some vegetation on the grounds of the resort. I took pictures of the bird and I sent them to one of the guides on our birding trip. He, in turn, has shown these pictures to a number of long-time Jamaica birders, including the President of BirdLife Jamaica and a scientist at the Smithsonian among others. These experts have weighed in on the identification with some consensus, but rather than share their opinions, I though I'd open this up to the listserve readers. 

If the "experts" are correct, the bird in question does have some interest to Maryland birders, so I think it's fair game for this listserve. 

You can view pictures of this bird at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freds-pix/sets/72157613195221976/

These pictures, taken on Christmas day, show the bird in a shrub next to one of the resort buildings. I included the fourth picture to show the lower abdomen of the bird. 

Please feel free to add your comments to the site and to offer your own guesses to its identity. 




 


=================
Fred Burggraf
Dentsville, MD
Charles Co.