NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS 
REALLY CONFUSING FALL WARBLER- 
ANOTHER GYNANDROMORPH 
Richard Guthrie 
New Baltimore, NY 12124 
Bill Cook 
Columbia-Greene Community College 
Hudson, NY 12534 
On 19 Aug 1998 I found a dead Black-throated Blue Warbler 
(Dendroica caerulescens) in Altamont, Albany County, New York. The 
specimen displayed plumage characteristics of both the male and the 
female of the species. The right side had a blue back, black throat, and 
white undersides. The left side was dull grey/brown above and yel¬ 
low /olive below. 
The specimen was taken to Dr. William Cook at Columbia-Greene 
Community College in Hudson, NY, who prepared a laboratory speci¬ 
men. Although the specimen was fresh, there were no signs of trauma 
and the cause of death was not apparent. 
Preliminary results show that the internal organs corresponded with 
the plumage characteristics, i.e. testis on the right side and ovary on the 
left. Organ and tissue samples were submitted for DNA analysis and 
other tests. The results are not back yet, but will be published when com¬ 
plete. 
A color photograph of the specimen placed between male and female 
Black-throated Blue Warbler specimens can be seen on the Columbia- 
Greene Community College web site at http://www.sunycgcc.edu/~ 
mathsci/ slide6.html. 
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A HERON SWIM?? 
Manny Levine 
585 Mead Terrace 
So. Hempstead ,NY 11550 
In July of 1999, while birding in Cow Meadow Park, Freeport, Nassau 
Co.in the company of Sy Schiff, and A1 Wollin, the three of us were 
puzzled by the sight of a "strange" bird in the middle of the man-made 
pond. It took us a couple of minutes to realize that it was an immature 
The Kingbird 2000 March; 50(1) 17 
