Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk, by Steve Thornhill

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Another Vireo at Kiptopeke

Following last month's intriguing vireo shown below, another was seen yesterday, on the last day of the Kiptopeke Hawkwatch by Anna Stunkel and Brian Taber. This bird was uniformly gray above, and showed no greenish tones. Anna said she thought she saw faint yellowish on the sides. The only photo, by Taber, shows some of the overall coloration, white spectacles, white outer tail feathers, white wingbar. You can just barely see some of the line marking the cheek/throat border, just above that twig. We are in the process of evaluating it, but it's field marks appear consistent with Plumbeous Vireo. The Solitary Vireo complex, split into 3 species in 1997, presents quite a challenging identification.