Posted by Mark Brown (204.48.169.252) on April 29, 2003 at 23:10:50:
In Reply to: Mystery Passerine posted by Bruce Deuel on April 07, 2003 at 11:35:43:
Query One: If this is a Hutton's could the streaking be age-related? A: I.D. Guide to N.A. Passerines has juveniles with upperparts washed brownish, another term for streaky? Q2: Why is this bird grayer headed and whiter below? A:According to Ridgway (1904) young Hutton's in juvenal plumage are similar to adults but much grayer olive above, under parts much paler. Sounds like this bird. Q3: Are Gray Vireo's big billed? A. The San Diego Natural History Museum's website has an article on Plumbeos, Cassin's & Gray Vireos which states that the Gray's bill is shorter than Cassin's but thicker even than the Plumbeous. So yes. Q4: Can Gray Vireo show diffuse flank streaks? Only picture on web of Gray I could find was at greglasley.net and had no streaks.
Are the black spots on belly the beginings of a brood patch? Adult male Vireos spend time on nests and get brood patches as well.
To move away from field identification to nomenclature, I recently was searching for a brew-pub in Southern San Luis Obispo County when I noticed I was on Hutton Road. Later I read in Corrine Ardoin's "Birding the Nipomo Mesa" that William Rich Hutton was San Luis Obispo's first County Surveyor. He collected the type specimen at Monterey in 1847.