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When
we removed it from the net, the top bird's light yellow-orange bill, as
well as the odd calls that it gave continually while being extracted (subsequently
recorded while the bird was in the banding lab; see [and hear] below),
struck us as odd for a Scarlet Tanager. In addition, the greenish
wingbar on the fresh basic median coverts and the unusually broad greenish
edging on the retained juvenal inner secondaries (top wing photo above)
were unusual. Scarlet Tanagers, however, are notorious for their wide range
of plumage variations. The possibility (O.K., we admit it, it crossed
our minds!) that this variant Scarlet Tanager might be a hybrid Scarlet
X Western Tanager actually has a precedent--a putative hybrid was collected
by Harrison B. Tordoff and colleagues in Minnesota on August 17, 1949 (reported
in Wilson Bull. 60: 3-4). Although we finally concluded that our
bird was just another interesting Scarlet Tanager variant (albeit our first
ever in-hand vocal variant!), we certainly would be happy to hear comments
from other banders or birders concerning the unusual appearance and vocalizations
of our bird. For the record, #1871-27716 had a wing length of 92.0mm,
tail length 65.0mm, exposed culmen 13.8mm, nares to tip of bill 10.5mm,
bill depth at nares 7.9mm, bill width at nares 7.5mm, fat score 2 (on a
scale of 0-3), and body mass 34.9 grams.
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Click
on one of the links below to hear calls recorded from this bird after banding
Full .wav file (818kb)
Shortened .wav file (219kb)
Note:
The "hu-wee" call near the beginning of the above sound files (given while
the bird was sitting in a darkened holding cage) is similar to a Scarlet
Tanager's nocturnal call note, sometimes described as "hu-dee" or "pu-wi."
Although we are not familiar with Western Tanager nocturnal flight calls,
they are described as being similar to the Scarlet's. This bird's "hu-wee"
seemed clearer, shorter, and slightly higher pitched to us than a CD recording
of a Scarlet Tanager's "hu-dee" (Evans, W. R., and M. O'Brien. 2002.
Flight Calls of Migratory Birds [CD available through www.oldbird.org]).
The bird's repeated "chip" notes from the middle to end of the above clip
(given while it was being handled) is unlike any Scarlet Tanager calls
we have heard before.
Fall
2003 Banding Results
Studying
Nocturnal Migration
BANDING
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