Can anyone identify this bird?

[gamitch]

Photo taken in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

[matt_sallis]

<P>Are you sure the white balance is right on that shot? The bird looks bright green!

<br>It's clearly a juvenile, and probably some type of warbler, but very difficult to pin down with that lighting and W/B.</P>

<P>Given the 3 Q's on ID, may I suggest that a photo field guide might be handy? In the UK there is an excellent book called the Collins British Wildlife Photo guide, which covers plants, insects, mammals, birds etc., in fact all common species. I'm sure an equivalent exists in Canada, and it's great to carry with you for instant ID.</P>

[mark_chappell]

Wilson's warbler as far as I can tell.

 

Truthfully, many of us find it very enjoyable to use a field guide to identify wildlife. It's much

easier to learn that way, I think.

[nancy s.]

Check this out:

http://www.enature.com/flashcard/show_flash_card.asp?recordNumber=BD0387

 

Fall Warblers can be confusing and difficult as they are changing plumage and the immature warblers are not quite into adult plumage. If you are going to do this a bit I recommend you get a good field guide. I personally use the Peterson Guides with the Audubon Guides as a back up.

[SCL]

You have several recent posts asking for help in identifying a number of nature shots. Perhaps you should purchase a local nature guide and save yourself some effort.

[gamitch]

Thanks for your responses. I will take the advice and look for a good field guide.

[SCL]

Hey Greg - thought you might enjoy a laugh. Even though I research pretty heavily my nature shots, about 3 years ago I photographed a bird I couldn't seem to identify...so I turned to the internet. Got a lot of responses, and ended up going with the majority. A year later ran into a forest ranger who commented that the bird I was shooting was often mistaken for another one...sure enough, everybody had been wrong in their assessment, including me in my research. The laugh was that in the interim, three serious birdwatchers and one game warden also misidentified the original bird shot. So there you have it...opinions are often worth what you pay for them.

[alberta_pizzolato]

His name is Sam and I believe he lives on 4th and Elm.

[ntv666]

I think it is the same bird.

 

 

<a href=" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1058/1354867241_4e4b56a698.jpg" width="500" height="339" alt="_DSC00045494" /></a>

[kerry_grim]

Looks very much like an immature Wilson's Warbler which is reasonably common for your area. The closest to it would be immature Hooded Warbler but I have never seen one with a face pattern like that, but Hooded Warbler can also be ruled out is it is far out out of the range.

 

I have no idea what the bird before this email is, except it certainly is not the same species, nor does it even appear to be a warbler, but I have no feel for a size.

 

Fall warblers are generally difficult to idenify and it takes years of experience. I've learned to identify them in black-and-white, paying attention to patterns, shape, and sometimes even the chip call will identify the species. Lighting is variable and seldom match the photos or illustrations in books. It would be best to learn what is in the area which would narrow it down, usually. It is usually the neophite birder that comes up with an identification for a bird that doesn't even occur in the area, yet hard-core birders don't often find them. So I guess what I am saying is look at the commonist birds of the area first. In the case with this warbler, I would show it to local birders.

 

In all case, the photographer needs to note location, habitat, size, and behavior which also aides in identification.

[geoff_coe]

There are many online sources that can help you with this sort of enquiry. All About Birds is the Cornell U. site and very user friendly:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/

 

In addition, if you join Flickr (free) there's a user group called Field Guide: Birds of the World which, in turn, has an ID Help Line moderated by some very serious, knowledgeable birders and ornithologists.

 

Good luck.