Lawrence's Warbler in Central Park

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 
and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 
of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

Annie Di Gennaro, John Di Gennaro, and I were birding by the Loch in the North End of Central Park in New York, NY, at about 3:45PM. I heard a song that sounded like Blue-winged Warbler, but with only the second part of the Bee-Buzz song (just the Buzz). We looked for what we thought might be a Blue-winged for about fifteen minutes without turning one up. Then we spotted a warbler-sized bird we did not immediately recognize in an oak tree. The bird’s wings were grayish-blue with two clear white wing bars. Its underside was entirely yellow except the vent and under tail which were both white. We noted the bird’s head and face were also yellow, but it had a black throat patch and black eye mask. There were several birds in the same tree for close comparisons including Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Baltimore Oriole, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Due to its similarities to both Blue-winged and Golden-winged, and given the buzz vocalization, the idea that it may be a hybrid came to mind. As Annie and John kept eyes on the bird, I checked a reference I found online (an article in Birding from May/June 2005). We verified the field marks and decided that we were seeing something worth sharing. We managed to get about ten birders on the bird. I borrowed a camera from a pair of birders that were present and took some pictures; they were kind enough to let me use the camera and then send me the pictures.

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 

and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 

of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

After about 15 minutes we lost the bird, but a couple more birders showed up. We heard the bird only occasionally sing, and with effort, we were able to track it down, eventually finding it in the same oak tree. The bird was now higher up, but we still had clear views. Other birders showed up but as of 5:15PM the light was becoming less favorable at this spot, and we did not re-find the bird. I am not sure if it was found again after this time.

If anyone goes to try to look for it tomorrow, we had the bird just above the Loch walking path, where on the one side is an overlook of the “stream” and on the other side a wood chip path that leads to the wildflower meadow. While the bird was pretty much directly above the walking path, the best viewing seemed to be just up the path toward the wildflower meadow. It is not far from the rustic bridges, if that helps.

A hybrid bird, with genes from both Golden-winged Warbler 

and Blue-winged warbler. Photographed at the North End 

of Central Park, New York, NY on May 8, 2016.

Big thanks to the birders that allowed me to take the pictures! Such a fun day to be birding in Central Park!

This text was also shared on the NYSBirds-L list serve: http://digest.sialia.com/?rm=message;id=1183486.