ID help

[thebestmissy]

This bird jumped into the sprinkler yesterday with the Robins. Can you please help with an ID?

I've added a photo of the bird with a Robin nearby. The Robin was at least 5 ft closer to the camera. I appreciate all the effort to help ID. A couple of other IDeas that have been thrown in are Mourning Warbler and Nashville Warbler.
http://www.fwas.org/picture.php?albumid=32&pictureid=777

[Ted]

Wow. I almost don't want to try to answer this. At first I was thinking a recently fledged Scarlet Tanager, but the bill doesn't look right, and then I remembered where I now live. It has a big eye, a short tail, and black wings. So I really want to call it a tanager, but, the bill is too dark and long and somewhat pointed rather than stubby and blunt-tipped. So now I'm thinking oriole, namely orchard. We don't get to see too many fledged orioles or tanagers, and they sure aren't illustrated in field guides. Bills of recently fledged birds are not usually fully developed or full sized, and thus often give away a bird as a recently fledged bird. This bird looks like it has the bill of a thrush, and it appears darker rather than lighter. I could see this bill becoming darker, longer, and more decurved as time passes. The bird in pic #2 is striking the classic pose of a thrush. Although the eye is massive, I say recently fledged Orchard Oriole, I think.

[Y Cymry]

I would say female Yellow Warbler. Overall yellowish with slightly darker olive yellow upperparts. Large eye against a plain yellowish face. Yellow eye ring. Yellow wingbars. Yellow undertail coverts. Rather short tail (too short for an oriole).

I think the water is slicking back the plumage and distorting the bird's shape a bit and giving the bill a more prominent look than normal.

Lot's of Yellow Warblers are passing through the area at the moment.

[Y Cymry]

I just noticed the size difference with the robin in the main photo which confirms my belief that the bird is a warbler.

As to the Nashville Warbler suggestion, your bird lacks the gray-headed look of all age classes of that species which contrasts with the yellow throat. Nashville also has a much more prominent white eye ring and plainer greenish wings with less noticeable feather margins. Females and young are white bellied.

Your warbler does suggest an Oporornis warbler in some of the pictures but it lacks the hooded, or at least breast-banded look of some young birds, of any of those three species including Mourning. These warblers are also very plain backed with no noticeable feather margins in the wings. A young Mourning Warbler should show dark lores and a broken eye ring, your bird has light lores and what looks to be a complete eye ring.