Record Age and Sex

 When Submitting your Observations you have the opportunity to enter age and sex information for all 5 of your priority species during Step 3. At the top of the checklist you will be asked “Do you want to report age or sex?” If you check yes, once you hit continue a matrix will appear.

For all species you can choose between:

(Age) Juvenile, Immature, Adult, Unknown
(Sex) Male, Female, Unknown

Unless you have the bird in hand or are on the breeding grounds, it will be very difficult to age these birds. Please error on the side of caution and only enter this data if you are confident that you can identify their age and sex correctly. We assume that most people will select unknown.

For pictures and help determining age and sex see the tips below and visit the included links and/or consult a field guide.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT: AGE AND SEX
For the 4 warbler species if the birds have already begun their fall migration you can assume they are either an immature or adult and not a juvenile.

Cerulean Warbler

Juvenile – June to July of first year, on breeding grounds only
Immature – August of first year to August of second year
Adult – August of second year and older

    * Immature males tend to have green wing coverts.

    * Only males sing.

Golden-winged Warbler

Juvenile – June to July of first year, on breeding grounds only
Immature – August of first year to July of second year
Adult – August of second year and older

    * Juvenal plumages of both sexes alike, with a “strong olive wash to the upperparts and yellowish underparts”.

    * Only males sing, both sexes give calls.

Blue-winged Warbler

Juvenile – June to July of first year, on breeding grounds only
Immature – August of first year to July of second year
Adult – August of second year and older

    * Immature male similar to adult male, with crown yellowish-olive, contrasting less with nape and upperparts than in adult male. Wing-bars likely tinged with yellow.

    * Immature female duller than adult female; crown greenish and not contrasting with nape and upperparts, and dusky eye-stripe often indistinct.

    * Only males sing, both sexes give calls.

Brewster’s Warbler (hybrid of golden-wing and blue-wing)

Brewster’s hybrids (the most frequently occurring hybrid phenotype) look like golden-wings without the bold, black facial pattern. These hybrids feature the black eye-line of blue-wing. Their underparts are intermediate in color; i.e., white heavily washed with yellow. Their wing-bars are also intermediate but highly variable in the amount of yellow color and separation. Female Brewster’s are paler and the breast and belly may have more neutral gray than male Brewster’s.

Lawrence’s Warbler (hybrid of golden-wing and blue-wing)

Lawrence’s hybrids combine Golden-wing (homozygous recessive) face pattern with Blue-wing-like yellow plumage color. Black throat and eye-patch inherited as a unit with rare exceptions.

Canada Warbler

Juvenile – June to July of first year, on breeding grounds only
Immature – August of first year to July of second year
Adult – August of second year and older

    * Immatures of both sexes are similar to adults but somewhat duller, with even less distinct breast streaking and facial markings. Immature female is the dullest, and may have a very pale necklace, but always shows enough of adult pattern to be recognizable.

    * Juveniles have upperparts and underparts heavily washed in brown and buffy wing-bars, sometimes resembling a juvenile Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla). Its best identified by association with adults.

    * Only males sing, both sexes give calls.

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Juvenile – June to August of first year, on breeding grounds only
Immature – August of first year to November of second year
Adult – November of second year and older

    * Juvenile similar to adult, but upperparts brownish with buff wing bars and feather edges.

    * Characteristic song is a loud, 3-note whistle—quick, THREE BEERS!

    * Both sexes call and females are known to sing occasionally. Female song is weaker than that of male; described as wheezy, soft, lazy, or slurred, and sometimes incomplete.