Guesses?

[BetCrooks]

I have no idea what this one is. Your suggestions are gratefully accepted!

[attachment=0:32lhv71w]WhatBirdIsThisA.jpg[/attachment:32lhv71w]

[Paul O'Toole]

How about a Connecticut warbler.

[Pat Hodgson]

I think it's a female mourning warbler, but a rather drab one.  CT should have complete eye ring.

[thouc]

I think it's an Orange-crowned Warbler.

[Brian Bailey]

I think it's a female mourning warbler, but a rather drab one.  CT should have complete eye ring.

I agree. I think the faint, but well defined hood makes Orange-crowned unlikely.

BB

Sent from my birdroid using Tapatalk.

[BetCrooks]

Very interesting replies! I think I'd better get back to Lakeside and try to get some other views!

[lovemypt]

I agree with Thou..Orange-crowned

[cloaca]

Orange-crowned, no question.

Note the orange crown, among other things.

[Pat Hodgson]

No question?  Sorry, I question.  Fully prepared to admit I am wrong, but what are the features that make it orange-crowned?
Yes, there is something going on on top of the head.  But I am not convinced it is orange.  It looks mostly olive to me, mixed in with gray.  It looks too gray-hooded for orange-crowned.  And it has absolutely no "blurry breast streaking" to quote Peterson's Warblers book, which we need for orange-crowned.
I will still argue in favour of mourning warbler, but not from a position of certainty.  The overall pattern of the bird fits, but it seems a bit dull in its yellowness.  The gray hood I cannot get out of anything else.  The bird seems rather plump, which for me is right for mourning and wrong for orange-crowned, which appear small and slender.  The bill is out of focus, but appears quite long, too large for orange-crowned.

[thouc]

My main point for the Orange-crowned is the light-coloured eyebrow. Here is an example of an Orange-crowned with gray hood (Spring Orange-crowned usually don't have this I believe, more common in fall) and hardly any visible streaking, that looks very similar to our bird.

[cloaca]

No need to be sorry.  The "no question" was regarding my opinion, not yours.

Orange-crowned Warblers will often show a contrast between the grey head and the yellowish body - it does not rule out the species.  Have a look at the first bird on this page:  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/oran ... warbler/id

The crown, just above the eye, is very clearly showing a rufous orange on my monitor, nothing like the grey or olive tones on the wings or back.  I can see greenish in the head behind the eye, but the spot right above the eye is very much "orange."  Whether you see it as orange or olive, this contrasting patch isn't a feature consistent with a female Mourning Warbler anyway.

There is very slight blurry streaking on the breast of the bird - note the greyish tones mixed in with the yellow.  This is a very subtle field mark, anyhow.  Look at resources online, and you'll find countless individuals with a seemingly unmarked breast.  The bird in the link above has barely more streaking than the bird in this thread.  We don't need it for Orange-crowned.

The bill is not too large for Orange-crowned.  It's slightly open, which might give you the impression that it's bigger than it is.

[cloaca]

Here are some more photos of a bird with that "gray-hooded" look:

http://www.greglasley.net/orangecrown.html

[Brian Bailey]

Well, I know that Orange-crowned Warblers can have highly variable plumage, but that's not one I was aware of.  It would also help explain the whitish lower belly which isn't really consistent with a Mourning Warbler.

And for all these years Peterson only warned us about confusing fall warblers!  :wink:

BB

[Bluffs Birder]

One distinct feature noted in Warblers Of The Americas, An Identification Guide (Curson, Quinn, and Beadle) on the Orange-crowned Warbler is "...yellow-olive undertail-coverts (concolorous with, or slightly yellower than, rest of underparts)."  This feature is also mentioned in The Warbler Guide (Stephanson and Whittle) as "Olive underparts and yellowish UnTC" - UnTC being Undertail Coverts.  This feature is clearly visible in your photo.

The Warbler Guide also mentions "...hood color is variable and may indicate race, but does not indicate sex or age."  They also go on to say that races are not easily separable and overlap.  The 'hood colour' is not a good clear indication of this species.

Walter

[BetCrooks]

Thanks again to everyone who has been responding. I've been learning a great deal about the subtle differences between these types of warblers. I don't think I really understood till now just how much variation there can be. I'm only sorry that I don't have a clearer photo.