This photo of a spring male shows many of the classic features of Yellow-throated Vireo:

• bright yellow 'spectacles' [eye-ring and lores]
• bright yellow throat and breast contrasting with bright while belly
• green head and back but gray upperwing coverts (gray extends down scaps to rump and uppertail)
• two prominent white wingbars (tips of greater & median coverts)
• stout bill

Yellow-throated Vireo is a nesting species of the eastern United States, barely reaching southeastern Canada, that winters from south Florida and southeast Mexico to northern South America. It is a vagrant anywhere west of the Rocky Mountains but there are about 60 California records, of which two-thirds have been in the spring. Two have wintered in southern California.

This vireo remained along the Big Sur River near BSOL (about a mile from the mouth) for the next six weeks, and went through a complete molt. It was recaptured twice and on its final recapture on 17 Sep was in crisp, fresh plumage. Note just how ratty and worn the bird looks in the July photo, with its tail particularly bedraggled.

Fall birds are very bright and crisp; see the description following the list of records for an example [no fall bird has yet been photographed in MTY]. Pyle's (1997) Identification Guide to North American Birds describes this species as having one complete molt each year — on the summering grounds (Jul-Sep) — and a partial molt on the wintering grounds (Jan-Apr). Hatch-year birds have a partial molt soon after fledging but retain the juvenal wings and tail to the next summer.

Rita Carratello and I decided to meet late in the afternoon of this Friday to bird the Carmel River; shortly after arriving we ran into Bill Hill and Jeff Barnum. The four of us decided to look at the ‘Odello Lagoon’ so we took the rough trail up from the riverbed to the ‘Odello parking lot’ which leads to the open fields south of the sewage treatment plant. As we crossed this old parking lot next to the treatment plant, we came upon a flock of chickadees. I went to the west end of the lot to look through them. Very shortly thereafter I spotted a bird with wingbars and a very bright yellow breast in a live oak. I called out to the group that I had a “Blackpoll or better”  and then said “in fact, it's so bright it might be a Yellow-throated Vireo.” Bill Hill then refound the bird higher in the crown of the oak and stated “yes, I've got it, it's a vireo” and we were soon all have long & leisurely views of a very bright, crisp Yellow-throated Vireo. The flock was working toward the willows along the edge of the river and the vireo followed. We later had even closely and more nearly eye-level views in a willow. The flock included several Yellow-rumped & Townsend’s warblers, and bright Tennessee Warbler, along with the Chestnut-backed Chickadees. The vireo did not vocalize.

Description: A big-headed, short-tailed, medium-sized vireo -- this shape is really quite different from our usual vireos. The bird had a heavy, hook-tipped, vireo bill; black in color. Legs were rather thick and in good lighting were obviously blue-gray in color. A big blackish eye dominated the face, and it was encircled with a yellow eyering with continued over the lores as a yellow line to create prominent yellow “spectacles.”
   The vireo was rich green throughout the head and back, contrasting with a very bright yellow throat and breast. This yellow breast then sharply contrasted with clean white belly and undertail coverts. In good light we had great views of the rich green back that gave way to a sharply set-off soft gray rump. Upperwing coverts, remiges, and rectrices black. The median and greater wing coverts had sharply-defined white tips creating two white wingbars. The lower wingbar was very broad -- almost twice as broad as the upper -- and therefore very obvious; the upper edge was a bit “ragged” sending “teeth” of white upward along the edge of each feather (recalling White Wagtail on this feature, but less pronounced that the wagtail pattern).  All tertials & secondaries & outer rectrices were edged white; edgings on tertials broader than on the remiges/rectrices.
   This is the brightest Yellow-throated Vireo I've ever seen, so crisp and colorful. While the Yellow-throated Vireo that summered on the Big Sur River molted into a brighter plumage, it still did not look to me (and I saw it in September near the end of its molt) nearly as bright as this Carmel River individual. I suspect this bird is a first-year bird.

Status: This is now the third record for Monterey County. The prior two were adults that summered (or, in the case of the one found dead in August 1981, likely summered).

Addenda: this Yellow-throated Vireo was seen the next day (16 Oct) by Bill Hill, Jim Booker, and others, and on 17 Oct by Alan Eisner et al. It was thereafter seen daily to 23 Oct (last seen by Craig Hohenberger et al.).

"Sunny day with mild wind; birding with Rita Carratello, Dan Singer, Joe Morlan, Robbie Fischer, Steve Rovell and others. Yellow-throated Vireo: one male singing off & on in willows on south bank of Big Sur River, and also in sycamores; found at 6:30 a.m. by Steve Rovell. The bird is unbanded. We eventually got fine views.
   A mid-sized, big-headed, big-billed vireo with a fairly short tail that was usually held cocked-up. Bright yellow throat & breast contrasted with bright white belly; upperparts rather bright green. Dark eye surrounded by broad yellow 'spectacles' (eyering & loral stripe); wings dark gray crossed by two broad white wingbars (white tips to greater & median coverts). Tail grayish; brief view of rump and it looked pale gray.
   Bill heavy, obvious 'hook' to tip; black. Legs sturdy & thick, looked bluish-gray.
   Song recalled Cassin's Vireo but a bit slower so the cadence of 'question-asked, question-answered' less apparent, but could be mistaken for a Cassin's or Plumbeous song. Also gave 'eh-eh-eh' harsh grating call notes."

Joe Morlan has another description of this bird on his web site.