Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Warbler Hybrid ID: Conclusionish

Hi All!!!
Regarding my last post, after getting replies from many birders from around the county (including some of the country's best birders) I haven't gotten a 100% sure answer from anyone. However, many of those great birders said that the bird wasn't a pure American Redstart but it definitely had AMRE blood. Most of the birders replied saying that the bird looked like an American Redstart X Parula sp. hybrid. Although it does sound bizarre that a Tropical Parula would cross breed with an American Redstart, one of the birders pointed out that some of the tropical warblers will breed on their wintering grounds, which is in Mexico where American Redstarts also winter at. But American Redstarts have also been known to crossbreed with Northern Parulas which was another thought that those birders had.
Thanks to all who replied to me!

2 comments:

  1. Interesting Caleb! This find is great. Even though it's inconclusive, it opens up a lot of thought about these birds and what they may do.

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  2. Thanks Mr. Tommy!!! I felt kinda bad that I didn't get an answer on this bird but it is still an awesome bird! One of the guys said that we could only surely identify this bird's parents by a genetics test.

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