WEWA/CHSP song, Southwest Ohio, June 17 (1 Viewer)

[qwerty5]

This morning I happened to hear a trill that I thought sounded Worm-eating-ish. I have no real experience with Worm-eating songs, besides listening to recordings, trying to hear the differences between it and Chipping Sparrow. This bird was singing 30-50 ft up in mature riparian forest. The terrain was flat, but with a mildly steep slope nearby. I wouldn't really expect Chipping Sparrow in this habitat, but there was a picnic area nearby that (obviously) holds Chipping Sparrows. Worm-eating is very rare in this area as a breeder, but not impossible. The song length seems to indicate Chipping, some of the phrases are ~4 seconds, but from what I understand, WEWA songs should be 3 sec or less. Overall Chipping Sparrow is significantly more likely based on range and timing alone, but I'm curious if anyone has any other thoughts. Quality is best towards end of recording.

For whatever it's worth (probably not much), I put this in Merlin and it said Worm-eating.

 

[qwerty5]

Anyone? Surely someone here has experience with Worm-eating Warbler vs. Chipping Sparrow.

 

[birdmeister]

It's a tough pair to distinguish by song alone. I do think the song sounds pretty good for Worm-eating, but like you said, I've never heard one hold the trill for that long. I just can't say for sure, especially if there's an open park setting. Chipping Sparrows can definitely reach into woods a bit past those open areas. If this was deep in the woods, I'd be happier to say Worm-eating. Those other species in the recording (Wood Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Acadian Flycatcher) are all classic species of that mature woodland with some sort of hilly terrain that Worm-eating likes.

 

[qwerty5]

It's a tough pair to distinguish by song alone. I do think the song sounds pretty good for Worm-eating, but like you said, I've never heard one hold the trill for that long. I just can't say for sure, especially if there's an open park setting. Chipping Sparrows can definitely reach into woods a bit past those open areas. If this was deep in the woods, I'd be happier to say Worm-eating. Those other species in the recording (Wood Thrush, Louisiana Waterthrush, Acadian Flycatcher) are all classic species of that mature woodland with some sort of hilly terrain that Worm-eating likes.

Thanks for the input. Looks like this will go down as unidentified, which I kind of anticipated. It was close (~500 ft) to an open picnic area, so probably just a Chipping Sparrow straying into the woods a bit.