Wot if Warbling Vireo turned up in Britain? (1 Viewer)

[amears]

A discussion developed on a different thread about the similarity (or not) of Warbling Vireo and Garden Warbler. I wondered if WV may have occurred in Britain but been overlooked and perhaps passed off as GW. Conclusion was that if seen reasonably well, they are very distinct. My thoughts continued here:

WV’s call is great (per xeno-canto) - a wheezy disyllabic thing not a million miles away from REV. Look it up if you don’t know it, and if a chunky grey warbler dives into some bushes in front of you this autumn in Britain and starts cranking it out, you’re in!

Checking a few youtube clips, WV’s jizz looks pretty similar to Garden Warbler’s to me (I’ve seen plenty of autumn GWs slinking lazily through the canopy for example). Putting the super to one side (which can be very indistinct on WV), the most noticeable difference seems to be the larger bill of the vireo (sometimes looks both longer and deeper so proportionally heavier).

They are exactly the same length, very similarly proportioned and very similarly coloured birds. Am I missing something on the overall colouration though? Web clips and photos are so variable, as are field guide illustrations when it comes to greys, browns and olives.

A final Q for anyone – if a WV did pop up in front of you on Scilly but instantly dived into the deepest recesses of, shall we say, Holy Vale, then assuming you hadn’t clocked the face pattern very well (perhaps it was back on), what sps might be running through your mind? Let’s say that you saw enough to eliminate Blackcap on crown colour and willow-chiff on size and colour amongst others.

Cheers,
Andy.

 

[chris butterworth]

Are we talking about Eastern .......... or Western? :eek!:

 

[Tiraya]

You've already given the answer: it would probably be overlooked by all but the best birders, assuming they get the good views.

The bill shape is one clue (especially if you get one with a good "hook"), and the face pattern if seen well is more focused on the white supercilium while garden warbler seems more focused on the white around the eye, so that helps (though warbling vireo's face pattern is very biased on a white eye ring if you see it from the front). If you get a nice brightly coloured yellow-hued blue-legged one that should stand out...

 

[skatebirder]

I just had a look at Warbling Vireo image and to me the main difference is that WV looks really cute, while Garden Warblers look like little thugs in comparison.

David

 

[dominic.patagonia]

As a Brit now living in the USA, i don't these 2 sp. are that easy to confuse. I see a lot of WAVIs and I've never thought one looked like much like a garden warbler, even in the first few years of living in the US. Color tones are very different (even a drab WAVI), and warbling vireo never looks brown like a garden warbler can. As is structure, jizz etc. I can't say for sure whether i would have held the same view years ago in the UK, before i saw warbling vireos every sping and fall, but i don't think so.
And yes, WAVI is much cuter looking and kinda fluffy compared to a garden warbler.

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

I'd say the bill shape is VERY different.

 

[amears]

Thanks, everyone.

Dominic - your comments are very similar to those of Pete Morris on the other thread...

Still interested to hear thoughts on this:

A final Q for anyone – if a WV did pop up in front of you on Scilly but instantly dived into the deepest recesses of, shall we say, Holy Vale, then assuming you hadn’t clocked the face pattern very well (perhaps it was back on), what sps might be running through your mind? Let’s say that you saw enough to eliminate Blackcap on crown colour and willow-chiff on size and colour amongst others.