OK, this has got me thinking... Hybrid Warblers. How many are there? Brewster's (Blue-wing X Golden-wing) Lawrence's (Blue-wing X Golden-wing) Sutton's (Parula X Yellow-throated) Junkin's (Mourning X Kentucky) "Nirschl"- Parulean (Cerulean X Parula) Cincinnati (Kentucky X Blue-wing) Are there any other Hybrid Warblers in N. America? I wanted to know what they are looked like so I could tell them apart. From the links below and other searches I did on the above names I found pictures or drawings of mostly male birds. What do the female hybrids look like? I presume there are some. Every once in awhile I will find a warbler that I presume is female, because the coloration is drabber. But, the field marks are not quite right for the females in my field guides. I wonder if maybe in all my years of birding I may have seen a female hybrid. But, without pictures or drawings of female hybrids how will I ever know. If anyone, knows of a source please let me know. Mary Anne Romito Cleveland, OH -----Original Message----- From: Ohio birds [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bill Whan Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 9:58 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [Ohio-birds] "Parulean warbler" With so much attention devoted to warblers these days, it might be worth reminding everyone of a growing miracle. An apparent hybrid northern parula X cerulean warbler returned this spring to the same Toledo spot for the *fourth* consecutive year. Rick Nirschl discovered this bird on 5/16/04; this year he noticed it on 4/24. Certainly it deserves the name some give it, "Nirschl's warbler," and a debt is owed to Rick and Brian Zwiebel and others who documented this phenomenon. More detail is in Rick's article in the Ohio Cardinal (Vol 27 #4, pp 164-168) and in pages of the late-lamented Birding News at http://www.ohiobirds.org/news.php?News_ID=97 http://www.ohiobirds.org/news.php?News_ID=88 Also interesting is news on a hybrid warbler discovered in New York last year (New York also had a "parulean" in 2004, by the way). DNA from this bird was examined in a lab, and you can look at photos of this bird to tweak out its parentage on your own, as well as peek at the answers provided by the genetic material, at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/mystery/ There are some interesting remarks about DNA testing and about hybrid birds in general. Might be fun to see if you can figure this bird out before looking at the answer. I imagine the survival of a hybrid warbler into its fifth year is pretty unusual. I also wonder if, having survived its perilous first year, the chance that such a bird might live into subsequent years increases, once it establishes and follows successful patterns (such as returning to Toledo every year). Wouldn't an experienced bird, having formed successful habits, be generally far more likely than others to survive any given year? Interesting stuff... Oh, yeah--does anyone know of an example of a hybrid wild bird producing offspring with a third species?? Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]