IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Worm-eating Warbler

HOW MANY:

1

REPORTER:

Darren Clark
114 Elm Avenue
Rexburg, ID 83404
208 356-0026

REPORTER EMAIL:

clarkd@byui.edu

OTHER OBSERVERS:

Cliff Weisse, Harry Krueger, and others. The finder of the bird does not want his name included in the report

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

20 Sept 2007

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

26 September 2004

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

Camas NWR 300 yards west of headuarters

HABITAT:

Cottonwoods and Russian Olives along a ditch

CONDITIONS:

I observed the bird for 10 minutes or so. I don't remember the weather, but I remember the bird being back-lit. I observed the bird from 20-30 yards away. I was using Nikon Venturer 8x32 binoculars. It should also be noted that I saw video of the bird taken by another observer who doesn't want to be named in the report. In that video all of the relevant field marks were evident.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

No, not at all

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

No, not at all

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

DESCRIPTION:

The bird was a warbler. It had a longish slender unhooked bill. The body was brownish/green and the head and throat were a slightly warmer buff. The bold striping on the head (through the eye and above the eye) were easily seen. The bird had dark eyes. I also noticed short grayish short stripes in the under-tail coverts.

BEHAVIOR:

The bird foraged in thick vegetation. It foraged from the ground to 15' high. It rarely came out in the open preferring to stay in cover.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?

The buff head and throat contrasting with the brownish/green back and tail along with the bold stripes through the eyes and on the crown clinched the identification for me. I never heard the bird vocalize.

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

Ovenbird has a strong crown stripe, but lacks a stripe through the eye, is streaked below, has an eye ring and isn't as warm/buffy. Red-eyed Vireo has similar striped through the eye and on the crown, but is colored much differently. Worm-eating Warbler is the only bird with the combination of warbler-like bill, buff head and throat and eye and crown stripes in our area.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

I've seen dozens of Worm-eating Warblers during spring and fall migration in Louisiana.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

15 years

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:

None