My own experience with this species was an 11/29/2002 bird at Jones Beach and a 12/21/2010 bird at Sunken Meadow. Both were in winter plumage without black on the throat. The early bird had a bit of yellow on the throat where it would have been replaced by black in the Spring, the later one did not and this was specifically looked for by all to make certain.. NYSARC ruled the first bird a hybrid amid some controversy. (My take was Hybrid in the Fall, Hermit in the Sparing).
As to the current bird, any YELLOW in the under parts would make this bird suspect. I hope there are photos as this species is a notorious hybridizer with Townsend's Warbler. Sy Schiff -- 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/ --
