Date of this Version
On 1 May 1999, I was birding a point along the north shore of the lake when I encountered as small. flock of Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers. At approximately 8:06 a.m. I was working my way through the flock when I heard a different chip note. The bird was feeding in a nearby tree, and I immediately recognized it as a male Black-throated Gray Warbler. I was able to study the bird at close range until 8:16 a.m. The bird was roughly the size of an Orange-crowned Warbler and was noticeably smaller and shorter-tailed than a Yellow-rumped Warbler. The head pattern was striking: solid black except for a yellow loral spot, a white eyebrow, and a broad white whisker mark. The throat and upper breast were also black. The remainder of the underparts was white except for some darker streaking along the flanks. The mantle was gray and was slightly paler than the head. The wings were also gray with two narrow white wingbars. The tail was dark gray above and showed a lot of white when viewed from below. The warblerlike bill was short, thin, and dark-colored. The legs were also dark-colored. On the basis of the solid black throat, I concluded it was an adult male.