Ronnie Macko and Shari Jackson were kind enough to send me some photos of the vireo that they've been watching in northeastern Stark County, and it is indeed a Warbling Vireo, as they had suggested earlier. Of course a Warbling Vireo in Ohio in late November represents a highly unusual record. But this one appears to be even more unusual than that, because my impression from the photos is that it's probably not an eastern bird. It looks more like one of the western populations, perhaps the subspecies V. g. swainsoni, which breeds in western Canada, extreme southeastern Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. This form is accidental in the east, although I know it has been documented in Florida at least once. The Warbling Vireos from the Pacific Northwest differ from the eastern birds in that they average smaller, with a proportionately smaller bill, making them look closer to the shape of a Philadelphia Vireo. Enhancing that impression is their overall color, with some contrast between the blue-gray crown and greenish back, whereas eastern Warbling Vireos tend to be more uniformly grayish above. The most brightly colored eastern Warblings have a strong yellow wash on the flanks, while the western birds usually lack this; any yellow they show below is a faint suffusion through the entire underparts. So if I'm correct that the Stark County bird is from the Pacific Northwest, it's understandable that the observers considered the possibility of Philadelphia Vireo when they first saw it. Some biologists have suggested that Eastern and Western Warbling Vireos could be two separate species. That split hasn't been formalized by the AOU, pending more studies where the breeding ranges come in contact, but it may happen in the future. So the Stark County bird potentially represents a first state record. Kudos to Ronnie and Shari for making the considerable effort to study this bird and to document it with photographs. Kenn Kaufman Rocky Ridge, Ohio ______________________________________________________________________ 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]