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Golden-wing alternate call



Cbirders:

Lois and I enjoyed the week-end chasing warblers around Graham County, 
NC.   We found 18 species including Cerulean and Golden-winged, but the 
highlight was a song given by a particular Golden-winged.  A chickadee 
giving alarm calls attracted a small group of 2 Redstarts, a Parula and 
this Golden-wing.  They chased each other around a bit giving us nice views 
of all these birds in very close proximity.  After things settled a bit, we 
watched the Golden-wing repeatedly give a  call that started with two short 
staccato notes, followed by a Parula-like rising buzz, followed by a 
descending nasal buzz remarkably like a Gnatcatcher.  It was quite 
different from the alternate song as described in the Dunn warbler book, 
Sibley, and recorded on the Stokes CD's.

Has anyone ever heard this before, and/or have any comments?  It was about 
3:00 in the afternoon when this occurred.  The bird appeared to be a normal 
male,  showing no unusual or hybrid plumage.  The location was along the 
fire road at Stecoah Gap.

Good birding,
Mike Schultz
Durham, NC