decay@cbnewsj.cb.att.com (dean.kaflowitz) (06/27/91)
Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions on identifying the warbler I saw at Sapsucker Woods. Everyone was in agreement that, if it wasn't the Blue-Winged, it was the Common Yellowthroat. Well, it was the Common Yellowthroat. The difficulty in identification arose because the field guide we used originally (I think it was an Audobon) has photographs instead of drawings. The photo looked like the Common Yellowthroat had a yellow throat and grey belly, but our bird was yellow on the throat and belly. The Peterson's guide, with its drawings, made it much clearer and easier to identify the bird. The mask is so large that it is distinctly a Common Yellowthroat. Many Rufous-Sided Towhees at Sandy Hook last Sunday. I like those birds. I was calling to one and it hung around and "conversed" with me for a couple of minutes and let me get quite close. Nothing like a friendly bird. Dean Kaflowitz