Re: [cobirds] Merlin magic with vireos

Time of year comes into play here. Two things happen at the end of the breeding season that can complicate the challenge of identifying song. First, young males of many passerine species begin practicing song. Their songs tend to be imperfect imitations of the mature song. Second, males that have finished breeding are beginning to loose their song. They sometimes continue singing, but the "purity" of the song can diminish. I suspect that these complications can increase the difficulty of recognizing the song for Merlin as well as for the human ear. I ran into this a few weeks ago at Fishers Peak State Park with Plumbeous Vireos. I would sometimes notice discrepancies in the song, and sure enough, Merlin occasionally suggested Cassin's Vireo among its more accurate suggestions of Plumbeous Vireo. 

This is one reason why "Merlin ID" is not a sufficient supporting detail for a rare or unexpected species, though it may point in the right direction. 

Excellent that David brought this issue up.

Chuck Hundertmark

Lafayette, CO

On Sep 15, 2022, at 12:59 PM, David Suddjian <dsuddjian@gmail.com> wrote:

Now maybe I will gripe. I was back at the same spot along Deer Creek this morning. After a little while a vireo began to sing again that sounded like a Plumbeous. And another began right away to sing back at it. Eventually I confirmed both as Plumbeous. I had Merlin Sound ID on again, and the first thing it registered for the vireo song was a Semipalmated Plover! Then came the Plumbeous ID, followed by Cassin's ID as the same nearby bird sang. A screen shot shows these. A little later, on a different recording it ID'd the same singing Plumbeous variously as Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-headed Vireo, and Plumbeous. Sigh...

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO  

<Screenshot 2022-09-15 at 12.04.50 PM.png>

On Tue, Sep 13, 2022 at 2:58 PM David Suddjian <dsuddjian@gmail.com> wrote:

This is not a Merlin gripe, but just a funny experience from this morning at Deer Creek.

Were I to follow the magician's lead, I had an unprecedented collection of vireos in one spot today near Deer Creek in JeffCo. It's fun anytime you have singing vireos in the fall, as some species do, making it easier to detect them,... if not to view them, But to have five different species singing in one tree in September is virtually unprecedented. Sadly, virtual was all it was.

https://ebird.org/checklist/S118667599

There WERE two Plumbeous Vireos singing near to each other, as you can hear on the recording on the checklist. One was much closer to me, and is louder. And there WAS a Cassin's Vireo nearby, but it was silent for Merlin during my encounter. So that is two species. And while Merlin identified my prominent singing PLVI correctly sometimes, but also variously as a Cassin's, a Yellow-throated, a Red-eyed and a Black-whiskered Vireo. Hey, there's one new state bird in there!! All those were its proposed IDs for the one singing PLVI. Let the user beware for all rare bird reports via dear Merlin. This we know. Personally I can relate, as I have a hard time telling the song of the PLVI from that of the CAVI. 

At the same location last week Merlin reported a Water Rail. A Water Rail?! 

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton CO

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RopvME9RMXP0wgsQRr1X0eLFPX1Pn70aFvx1QKARrFr%2BPQ%40mail.gmail.com.