CORRECTION: Arctic Warbler in Candaba

[Sylvia Ramos]

CORRECTION on this POST:
This is an Arctic Warbler!

Our Moderator Steve and Des Allen of WBCP both agree that this is an Arctic Warbler.

Des said, "all these images are clearly Arctic Warblers, first
year birds. This can have a very yellow wash to the throat, and also to other
parts of the underparts. But the crown is not greyish and the wings are long"
-----


Tonji and I were in Candaba yesterday when we heard a "different" sounding bird. We saw a small yellow bird hopping around the different branches of the tree. It did seem like too much of a coincidence that Tonji just saw this bird in Tara Island, and then we both get to see it in Candaba! But, it did look quite yellow unlike the Arctic Warbler, another similar-looking bird.

Tonji says this one looked yellower than the one he saw in Palawan. So perhaps this is the luzonensis race. We would appreciate confirmation from the experts on this.

Lemon Throated Leaf Warbler

f5.6, iso200, 1/60, Canon 50d +300mm + 1.4tc from the car window


f5.6, iso 100, 1/125, Canon 50d +300mm + 1.4tc from the car window


f5.6, iso 100, 1/125, Canon 50d +300mm + 1.4tc from the car window

This is Tonji's picture

f6.3 iso 320, 1/400, Canon 50d + 500mm + 1.4 tc tripod

[Ely Teehankee]

Very nice pictures from the best couple team of bird photographers. Well done Sylvia & Tonji. Mabuhay.

[Martin Alvendia]

You two are just perfect together. You never outdo each other. Nice find Sylvs! Lovely captures all!

[William Lim]

You captured it beautifully, Sylvia

[Romy Ocon]

Wow..... excellent series on this rarely photographed endemic, congrats Sylvia and Tonji!!!

[steve pryor]

Hi Guys,
Checking the ID. For the moment, it looks more like a borealis to me.

By the way, a mention on using plates in bird guides (e.g. the Kennedy). A lot of people limit themselves to trying to flip through plates and matching birds to the most similar. Through long experience, I know that though plates can certainly be a help, in many cases, the degree of this help depends much on the ability of the artist doing the plates. In the case of the plate for Phylloscopus in Kennedy, I find that the depiction of certain of the species is too muted. As an example, the P. cebuensis does not give a good indication of the brightness of the overall greenish cast dorsally, nor on the head and nape. So, what I have done through the years, is to search for bird photos, other books for cross-reference, and especially, I read the text descriptions of the specific distinguishers allowing the separation of species closely resemblant.

Preliminarily, I note that the lower mandible of this bird has a bill base that is yellow-orangish, but, with a dark tip - good for borealis, not for cebuensis. Further, there is the presence of an indistinct greater wing covert wing bar - good for borealis, not for cebuensis. Everything considered I find the crissum (i.e., the area that ventrally includes the vent + the undertail coverts) to be much too white for cebuensis. The overall dorsal coloration is much too light olive-brown for cebuensis which would be brighter and much more distinctively olive. The coloration of the dorsal aspect of the rectrices (the tail feathers) of this bird, is decidedly brown - look at the link below to see what the color should be were it cebuensis.

orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?action=searchresult&Bird_ID=1814

[Toto Gamboa]

Woooow! I really find warblers fascinating. Another rare shot for you guys! Congrats!

[alainpascua]

I saw this too, Sylvia, but I was not able to capture it. Congrats for getting it!

[Tonji Ramos]

Thanks for the comments guys. Seems its not so easy to ID these birds. But I have been reading the Kennedy guide about these Lemon-throated Leaf Warblers because I was trying to ID the bird I took on Tara Island.

Based on the Kennedy guide Phylloscopus borealis or Artic Warbler has: "underparts including undertail coverts dirty white." The Phylloscopus cebuensis or Lemon-throated Leaf-warbler in the luzonensis race has: "throat and undertail coverts pale yellow, yellow on throat sometimes so pale that it is hard to see; breast and belly white with faint yellow streaks."

Here is a picture I took with no modifications in the tone or saturation of the color. The time of day was 12:49 it was overcast with a slight drizzle and the bird was under the shade of the tree. Taken with no flash or filters. No photoshop. RAW file converted from DPP to JPG.

From this picture the yellow streaks can be clearly seen. Which is why I thought it was probably Phylloscopus cebuensis luzonensis race. But maybe if Phylloscopus borealis also has yellow coloring in the belly that should also be noted by the people who are using the Kennedy guide, because the only color mentioned in the Kennedy for the belly of the Arctic is "dirty white."

If it were me I would say there was some yellow bits on the throat, more on the neck and yellow streaks on the belly and more yellow in the vent area. If Phylloscopus borealis or Artic Warbler also has these kinds of yellow markings then it is going to be really difficult telling them apart.




I do enjoy these discussions on the possible ID and the process of learning more about the different species. Steve, I appreciate your comments and the time you spend trying to figure out the ID of each bird. I also appreciate your taking the time to educate a newbie birder like myself.

[steve pryor]

Hi Tonji,
Yes, you will learn that bird identification is difficult. Even though I am used to it, and have developed method in how I always tackle any ID problem, I still consider bird identification to be an art form, actually, an arcane art form. In spite of this, I still occasionally blow an ID.

Part of it is to look first at, and to give more weight to, the known distinguishers, i.e., those morphological reasons that allow separation of similar species. I always look at those things first, for example, in this case, the color of the lower mandible, the presence of the indistinct greater wing-covert bar, etc. Differences of coloration, especially when they are slight differences as in this case, I always push off in my mind to consider last.

I know that especially when vetting bird photos for ID, that there are many factors involved that can alter our perception of color in a photo. Lighting, reflection from surrounding foliage, optical reasons regarding lenses, and filters, manipulation during post-processing, etc. Therefore, in this case, I simply am giving little weight to the perception of a slight yellowness in certain discrete sections on the body of this bird.

Much more important are the known distinguishers to me. In many cases, you just have to make a list, and ask yourself which bird do you have to go out on a limb more to explain. Almost always, the bird that fits except for some small detail, respect to the bird that you have to almost go into conniptions to try to make fit, is the right bird. As for the birders, and photographers, it is initially difficult sometimes to resist the temptation to try and fit the birds that you really are hoping to find, to the birds that you are actually observing, or shooting.

One last point, but it is a vital point. The plates in Bird Guides, and even the text descriptions of the birds, are representative of a "mean". That is to say, that we are considering descriptions describing an "average" for a particular bird. Not all birds that we find fit exactly these description of "average type". Individual variation also exists, and we must remember that when considering very slight differences that might lead us in error.

[lenymanalo]

Whether it's the Arctic Warbler or Lemon-throated Leaf Warbler, it is the first Candaba record and the 117th species recorded.

[Tonji Ramos]

Steve, thanks for helping us with this ID and giving some great pointers on bird identification. I really try to figure out the ID of the bird myself and its usually not very hard. However some of the flycatchers and warblers are really tough to ID. When processing the colors of a difficult ID I don't add saturation and I also try to get the most accurate white balance. In this case I used the one with the least yellow. I guess color as an identifier is not the best as you said because of so many factors that can affect the color. The sun, the shade, exposure, monitor calibration, software, etc.
I really like the tip regarding the lower mandible and the wing covert bar. These will be extremely helpful in identifying this bird in the future. Thanks again for taking the time and effort to educate.

Leny, I am surprised that no one has seen an Arctic Warbler in Candaba. I would have thought people would have reported them much earlier. It was nice meeting up and talking to you yesterday. Keep up the good work in Candaba.

[Sylvia Ramos]

I changed the title of this post and added the ff correction:

CORRECTION on this POST:
This is an Arctic Warbler!

Our Moderator Steve and Des Allen of WBCP both agree that this is an Arctic Warbler.

Des said, "all these images are clearly Arctic Warblers, first
year birds. This can have a very yellow wash to the throat, and also to other
parts of the underparts. But the crown is not greyish and the wings are long"

[Ralf Nabong]

These are some of the best Arctic Warbler photos I've seen!

I also got this bird the last time we were in Candaba with Rey and Doc Mando, but my capture is nowhere near these photos!

[Toto Gamboa]

Nov 27, 2009 8:36:09 GMT lenymanalo said:

Whether it's the Arctic Warbler or Lemon-throated Leaf Warbler, it is the first Candaba record and the 117th species recorded.

Hi sir Leny, Arctic Warbler is also a first in Candaba?

[Edu Lorenzo Jr]

whatever warbler this is.. the shots are exceptional!