Friday, October 27, 2006

The Heralds of Fall

I always know the seasons have begun to turn again when the Yellow-rumped Warblers return to my yard. These birds are winter visitors in Orange County, and like the Ruby-crowned Kinglets, always signal that fall has officially begun. The sub-species we get here is the Audubon race, but when I lived in Santa Cruz last fall, we often saw both the Audubon and Myrtle races, and I learned to tell them apart after a while.



This little guy was foraging with a flock of Bushtits in my backyard.

Adult male-eastern(Myrtle Warbler):

  • Black mask
  • White supercilium and broken eye ring
  • Small, yellow, crown patch
  • Blue-gray crown, nape, back and wing coverts with black streaks
  • White throat
  • Yellow patch at side of breast
  • Black patches on upper breast extend as streaks onto flanks
  • White underparts
  • White wing bars

Adult male-western(Audubon's Warbler):

  • Dark gray head and back
  • Broken eye ring
  • Small, yellow, crown patch
  • Yellow throat
  • Yellow patch at side of breast
  • Black patches on upper breast extend as streaks onto flanks
  • White underparts
  • White wing patch

*info courtesy of USGS - Patuxent Bird Wildife Research Center.

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