I am certainly not discounting that there are three yellow-throated vireos because I did not see them. The main reason is that separating males from females is not really possible. To suggest that a young bird can be identified separately from adults stretches this even further. I have looked at hundreds of photos of yellow-throated vireos and have not found a single one separating males from females. The same goes for every field guide I possess. Norm Erthal Arvada, CO
On Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 9:39:28 AM UTC-6, Norm Erthal wrote: > The three yellow-throated vireos at Welchester are very unlikely for > several reasons. First, 3 together in one location in Colorado would be > unprecedented. This does mean it cannot happen, but great care should be > taken to be absolutely positive about the identification. Yellow-throated > vireos along with most other vireos are not sexually dimorphic. This means > males and females have the same plumage and are not separable in the field. > Young birds attain full adult plumage very early in their life. Finally > most passerines have the adult male generally migrate south before the > females and young and return north in the spring prior to females to > establish territories. Females are next to leave followed finally by young > birds. It would be nearly unfathomable for adult birds and first year birds > to reestablish contact on the wintering grounds and then return north as a > family group. Without photos of each of the three birds, this sighting > would not pass muster with experienced birders. > > Norm Erthal > Arvada, CO > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/6f9e0af4-f80a-4f49-8b22-43dde831a8f7%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
