What warbler is this?

[Stonefeather]

I was finally able to get off a couple shots of this warbler, which stayed in the upper branches of the tree at Fleetwood Pond, Prime Hook, Milton Delaware.  The eye ring in one of the pics is one of the things throwing me off.  Thanks    

[Caley Thomas 2.0]

Looks like a Pine Warbler to me.  Wait for others.

[Seanbirds]

Agreed.

[Birds are cool]

Why not a prothonotary warbler. I am not getting pine warbler vibes here.

[IKLland]

3 minutes ago, Birds are cool said:

Why not a prothonotary warbler. I am not getting pine warbler vibes here.

For one, they don’t have gray stomachs. Prothonotary Warblers instead have yellow going much further. 

[Charlie Spencer]

Second photo shows an unbroken eye ring.  Wouldn't a Pine have a break?

Edited August 18, 2022 by Charlie Spencer

[IKLland]

22 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Second photo shows an unbroken eye ring.  Wouldn't a Pine have a break?

Didn’t see that. It’s definitely not Prothonotary. 

[Birds are cool]

 

2 hours ago, IKLland said:

For one, they don’t have gray stomachs. Prothonotary Warblers instead have yellow going much further. 

stupid mistake of mine. What about yellow throated vireo? The bill does not seem to fit for a YTVI, but it seems most likely.

[Seanbirds]

6 minutes ago, Birds are cool said:

 

stupid mistake of mine. What about yellow throated vireo? The bill does not seem to fit for a YTVI, but it seems most likely.

This was exactly my thought, especially the part about the bill.

[Avery]

55 minutes ago, Seanbirds said:

This was exactly my thought, especially the part about the bill.

Same here. Honestly, I’m not sure we can tell if the eyering is complete or not. It sure looks like it is in some, but in others… the bill is also a bit thin for what I would expect on a PIWA. Only other thing I can think of is NAWA with how distinct the eye ring is, but the colors and patterns are off. 

[RobinHood]

11 hours ago, Birds are cool said:

What about yellow throated vireo?

Overall it looks good except they have a short , chunky bill - this one looks more long, thin and pointed. I'm still leaning Pine despite the habitat, tough to see the eye ring clearly.

[Seanbirds]

Just now, RobinHood said:

Overall it looks good except they have a short , chunky bill - this one looks more long, thin and pointed. I'm still leaning Pine despite the habitat, tough to see the eye ring clearly.

This.

[Kevin]

The bird has blue legs. 

[Charlie Spencer]

1 hour ago, Kevin said:

The bird has blue legs. 

Pine Warblers ain't gots no blue legs.

[Kevin]

Just now, Charlie Spencer said:

Pine Warblers ain't gots no blue legs.

Exactly. 

[Birds are cool]

41 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Pine Warblers ain't gots no blue legs.

Yellow throated vireos do.

[Avery]

2 hours ago, Kevin said:

The bird has blue legs. 

Could be a trick of the light. I would be in 100% agreement of YTVI if the bill wasn’t so thin. Another thing to take into account is the undertail pattern, which we can somewhat see in pic 2 and 3. From each angle, the undertail is in shadow, making it appear darker than it really is. I see two colors on the undertail, a white center and gray edges. YTVI would have a solid gray undertail, with less obvious silvery edges. I’m less inclined to think that this could be a trick if the light because we can see this two-toned pattern from two angles, albeit both are in shadow. 

Other thoughts? The thin bill is just too obvious to ignore for me, and the eye ring although apparently prominent, we don’t get a great view to tell specific details. I think it’s safe to say it’s either a PIWA or a YTVI, unless there is something else we haven’t considered 

[Kevin]

I'm not supporting Pine Warbler or Yellow-throated Vireo, I see problems for it being either one, I was just pointing out the bird seems to have blue legs.

[Caley Thomas 2.0]

17 minutes ago, Avery said:

Could be a trick of the light. I would be in 100% agreement of YTVI if the bill wasn’t so thin. Another thing to take into account is the undertail pattern, which we can somewhat see in pic 2 and 3. From each angle, the undertail is in shadow, making it appear darker than it really is. I see two colors on the undertail, a white center and gray edges. YTVI would have a solid gray undertail, with less obvious silvery edges. I’m less inclined to think that this could be a trick if the light because we can see this two-toned pattern from two angles, albeit both are in shadow. 

Other thoughts? The thin bill is just too obvious to ignore for me, and the eye ring although apparently prominent, we don’t get a great view to tell specific details. I think it’s safe to say it’s either a PIWA or a YTVI, unless there is something else we haven’t considered 

PIWA/YTVI hybrid.  <drops mic>.   JK, although I do now feel less certain about the PIWA original assessment of mine, and feel like the partial looks that we get at the eye area seem to fit better for YTVI than PIWA.  Overall, still a bit closer to a PIWA for me, but very tough with the photos / angles to be certain for me.

[Caley Thomas 2.0]

(for Birds are cool confused reaction, guessing it's about the eye comment...): The distinct yellow eyering is present, but we don't see the darker horizontal line going through the eye and extending behind the eye (as in most PIWAs), but there is the chance for the darker horizontal line extending mostly in front of the eye only (as in YTVIs), since we can't see this location in the various pictures supplied...

[Charlie Spencer]

Unidentifiable. 

[Avery]

52 minutes ago, Charlie Spencer said:

Unidentifiable. 

Yeah. Without other looks, I think it’s best left as an unknown. Good practice for tricky IDs though!

[IKLland]

I wouldn’t call this also. Any other photos?

[chipperatl]

Even with the fuzziness of these pics I'd think we'd see some streaking on it, if it was a PIWA.  Having said that everything else says PIWA to me.  

[lonestranger]

I can see a few reasons why it might not work, blue(?) legs for one, but for the sake of embarrassing myself and adding to the discussion, I will say that Common Yellowthoat was a passing thought I had.