Today I received an email from Bob Wilson with photos of images that make a very strong suggestion that there are 2 YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS in Bryant Park.
The photos show one to have much less white in the area between the top of the eye and the bill (supraloral region). This bird was photographed on the 5th Ave. side of the New York Public Library. The 5th Ave. bird is the one I see most of the time and it does appear to have an overall duller face pattern than most of the Chats I've seen so far. In the photos the white eye arcs are predominant. The other bird was photographed on the west side of the library in the garden that borders the northern edge of the ice skating rink. Its supraloral region is clearly whiter. There's more of a connection between the upper eye arc and the bill. If the birds maintain territories on either side of the library then I've seen this bird only once. I never made the connection that there might be 2 Chats. This should be easy to confirm if the birds continue. Two people, two cell phones and a little bit of luck. Here's the pertinent part of the email with links to Bob Wilson's photos which I've uploaded to my Flickr account with his permission. In case your email client doesn't accept embedded links I've added shortened URLs at the end of the post: Ben, I birded Bryant Park today from about 12:00-1:30 today and I think there are TWO Chats in the park at the moment. Attached are photos of what I feel are two different birds. Photos 3659<http://www.flickr.com/photos/81037799@N00/6445285145/in/set-72157604115966837>, 3667<http://www.flickr.com/photos/81037799@N00/6445286223/in/set-72157604115966837>and 3668<http://www.flickr.com/photos/81037799@N00/6445285657/in/set-72157604115966837>were taken about 12:30 near and on the terrace north and east of the library where you had previously reported the bird. Photos 3681<http://www.flickr.com/photos/81037799@N00/6445287603/in/set-72157604115966837>and 3686<http://www.flickr.com/photos/81037799@N00/6445286943/in/set-72157604115966837>were taken 18 minutes later in the strip of ground that is just north of the platform, a little toward the Eastern side of the park. Note the strong difference in the amount of white in the "spectacles" of the two birds. Bob Wilson BTW, I also saw the Lincoln's Sparrow about 12:45 in the bare patch where the workers had been putting down Spruce branches (they weren't there at the time). Also saw the Ovenbird and Hermit Thrush on my walk around the park. IMG_3659: http://bit.ly/skRp3v IMG_3667: http://bit.ly/vi8Q8s IMG_3668: http://bit.ly/sQ1mj8 IMG_3681: http://bit.ly/t0OA5d IMG_3686: http://bit.ly/sVh91L -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NYSB.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
