A Western Screech-Owl in the same Saguaro cavity as last winter.
A Study of the not so Gray Vireo
A Gray Vireo, one of two that I found.
Notice the yellowish tinge to the primaries and on the flanks.
When the bird lifts its wings the yellowish flanks are more obvious
along with yellowish feathers on the upper tail coverts.
Both the Sibley's and National Geographic field guides do not mention this, in fact both field guides state that the
Gray Vireo is drab gray and white. I knew it wasn't a Cassin's Vireo or a Bell's Vireo, the tail was too long, the bill too stout, lack of spectacles
ruled out Cassin's, and it was responding to a Gray Vireo song. I had to go online to the Birds of North America to find a reference to these
yellowish feathers, which are sometimes present in Gray Vireos in fresh basic plumage. Here's the reference:
In fresh basic plumage flanks with slight or no yellow-olive tinge (Pyle 1997), and lower back tinged with olive green extending to uppertail-coverts.