Orange-crowned Warbler
The great Christmas Eve termite massacre of 2010 was accomplished by three different kinds of birds: this one, the Orange-crowned Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a little later a Black Phoebe.
When we first noticed the birds out on our patio snapping up the little flying bugs as they emerged from the sodden ground, I had no idea what kind of birds they were. I thought it was only one variety, because they were all yellowish and about the same size. I'm not nearly as familiar with warblers and other insectivorous birds as I am with seed-eating songbirds that frequent my backyard feeders precisely because they are insectivorous. I can put out thistle and millet and sunflower seeds until the cows come home, but if the birds primarily eat bugs, there's not a whole lot I can do to attract them. I mean, these little guys were going absolutely nuts for the swarm of termites, but you don't exactly want to do anything to encourage termites around your house just because you like to watch birds eat them.
And they really were going to town on those bugs. From inside, you could hear their little beaks snapping shut as they darted in and caught the termites mid-flight. Anyway, I started to notice there were two different kinds of birds. The ones with the yellow spot on their rumps (Yellow-rumped Warblers, as I later learned when I found them in the Birds of California Field Guide), and the other kind that was kind of yellow-greenish all over.
When I saw a male, it became really clear these were different birds altogether - Orange-crowned Warblers.
The Cornell site I use to confirm virtually every bird I find describes the OC Warbler as "rather drab." Which threw me for a sec, because the male was pretty brilliant, I thought. But when I read a little further, I saw that OCs have four subspecies, and the California form is "the brightest yellow." So there we go. Back in business.
Yellow-crowned Warbler, December 24, 2010. Shot with Nikon and Sigma 500mm lens. Identified in Nat. Geo's Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, the Birds of California Field Guide, and on the Cornell website. Also, by Google image searching once I was pretty sure I knew what I had.
When we first noticed the birds out on our patio snapping up the little flying bugs as they emerged from the sodden ground, I had no idea what kind of birds they were. I thought it was only one variety, because they were all yellowish and about the same size. I'm not nearly as familiar with warblers and other insectivorous birds as I am with seed-eating songbirds that frequent my backyard feeders precisely because they are insectivorous. I can put out thistle and millet and sunflower seeds until the cows come home, but if the birds primarily eat bugs, there's not a whole lot I can do to attract them. I mean, these little guys were going absolutely nuts for the swarm of termites, but you don't exactly want to do anything to encourage termites around your house just because you like to watch birds eat them.
And they really were going to town on those bugs. From inside, you could hear their little beaks snapping shut as they darted in and caught the termites mid-flight. Anyway, I started to notice there were two different kinds of birds. The ones with the yellow spot on their rumps (Yellow-rumped Warblers, as I later learned when I found them in the Birds of California Field Guide), and the other kind that was kind of yellow-greenish all over.
When I saw a male, it became really clear these were different birds altogether - Orange-crowned Warblers.
The Cornell site I use to confirm virtually every bird I find describes the OC Warbler as "rather drab." Which threw me for a sec, because the male was pretty brilliant, I thought. But when I read a little further, I saw that OCs have four subspecies, and the California form is "the brightest yellow." So there we go. Back in business.
Yellow-crowned Warbler, December 24, 2010. Shot with Nikon and Sigma 500mm lens. Identified in Nat. Geo's Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America, the Birds of California Field Guide, and on the Cornell website. Also, by Google image searching once I was pretty sure I knew what I had.
Comments
Post a Comment