Although I found no casualties on this survey, the sharp eyes of undergrad Alicia Maple found one for me later in the day, and I’ve decided to include it. Alicia found the bird on the lawn in a spot outside my normal survey area on the south side of the building. It’s a Nashville Warbler, and it is located approximately 18m from the nearest glass pane on the Noble Research Center. As I was walking up to photograph it, I watched a fellow on the landscaping crew run over the carcass with a riding lawnmower.
Given the bird’s poor condition, I’ve decided to leave it in situ for a scavenging trial.
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Sure it’s a Nashville? Underparts don’t look yellow enough in the photos.
My initial ID was Orange-crowned, but something bugged me about it so I went back for another look. (I hadn’t collected it because it was in such poor condition.) Here is a copy of the case I put to some colleagues here:
“Not sure if I had confirmed the ID of this bird with any of you, but my initial call of Orange-crowned was in error. I just took a walk over to obtain some additional photos – and watched it get run over by a lawn mower as I approached – and I am confident that it is actually a Nashville Warbler. There is no hint of a pale supercilium or diffuse streaking on the breast or flanks consistent with Tennessee or Orange-crowned. (The eyes are too sunken to confirm a Nashville’s eye-ring.) The breast and belly are paler yellow than I’d prefer but the pattern is there of yellow, white on the vent and legs, and yellow undertail coverts. Finally, the head looks olive but closer inspection revealed it to actually be a gray head with some olive feather tips – fresh fall plumage.”