Posted by Gary Potter (206.171.176.18) on April 01, 2003 at 11:11:46:
In Reply to: a solo vireo posted by Mark Brown on March 29, 2003 at 13:43:51:
In the "Solitary Vireo" complex, the eyering is complete and is in sharp contrast to the gray color of the head. The lores also have a very distinct contrasting white line, which together with the complete eyering give a definite "spectacled" look which is lacking in this photograph. The eyering on this mystery bird is incomplete over the top of the eye as in Hutton's Vireo. Also, the yellow wash in the middle of the belly is not typical of Cassin's Vireo which typically has a yellowish wash on the flanks and whitish in the belly. This bird's flanks look gray, with the yellow only in the middle of the belly. Therefore, I'm relatively sure that it is not Cassin's Vireo, or any other member of the Solitary Vireo superspecies.
To me the only characteristic that detracts from the identification as Hutton's Vireo is that the tail looks a bit too long, but I think this is an artifact of the angle at which the photo was shot.