Erika and I photographed this Yellow-rumped Warbler at Olympia’s Capitol Lake on 13 January 2020. A simple explanation of the situation is that two groups of Yellow-rumped Warblers exist—Myrtle Warblers that breed across Canada, the Northeast US, to Alaska, and Audubon’s Warblers that breed from British Columbia and western Washington to Texas and through Central America. The groups are now considered to be a single species because they interbreed along a narrow band between British Colombia and Alberta.
Both Audubon’s and Myrtle Warblers winter in western Washington. After presenting a plethora of records for both warblers, Walh et al. in Birds of Washington, write “field identification of birds within the Audubon’s and Myrtle groups is not possible.” I am not sure what that means. Our bird seems to me to be clearly an Audubon’s Warbler. Note the distinct, white eye-ring and the lack of even a small stripe behind or in front of the eye The ear patch is not bordered by a pale edge and the throat is distinctly yellow. The possibility of hybrids does present glitches to identification, but Sibley maintains that hybrids can usually be recognized by a mosaic of Audubon’s and Myrtle field marks.
Both Audubon’s and Myrtle Warblers winter in western Washington. After presenting a plethora of records for both warblers, Walh et al. in Birds of Washington, write “field identification of birds within the Audubon’s and Myrtle groups is not possible.” I am not sure what that means. Our bird seems to me to be clearly an Audubon’s Warbler. Note the distinct, white eye-ring and the lack of even a small stripe behind or in front of the eye The ear patch is not bordered by a pale edge and the throat is distinctly yellow. The possibility of hybrids does present glitches to identification, but Sibley maintains that hybrids can usually be recognized by a mosaic of Audubon’s and Myrtle field marks.
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