It’s Sunday, so we have a batch of themed bird photos by ornithophile and evolutionist John Avise. John’s IDs and narrative are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Some Non-yellow Warblers
Several weeks ago, Jerry posted my photos of the Yellow Warbler and some other American Wood-warblers with conspicuous yellow in their plumages (see here).
But nearly 40 species of Wood-warblers (Parulidae) reside in North America, and not all of them display yellow feathers. This week I show several of these non-yellow warblers (yes, American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, and Waterthrushes are included in the family Parulidae). All of the Wood-Warbler species tend to be hyperactive little sprites, and in my experience they are extremely difficult to photograph well.
Black-and-White Warbler male (Mniotilta varia; Texas) (notice the male’s black throat):
Black-and-White Warbler female (California) (notice the female’s white throat):
Black-throated Gray Warbler male (Dendroica nigrescens; California; notice the male’s black throat):
Black-throated Gray Warbler female (California) (notice the female’s white throat):
Black-throated Blue Warbler male (Dendroica caerulescens; Florida):
Another Black-throated Blue Warbler (Florida):
Black-throated Blue Warbler female (Florida):
American Redstart male (Setophaga ruticilla; Michigan) (the female would be yellow where the male is orange):
Painted Redstart (Myioborus pictus; Arizona) (the two sexes look alike):
Louisiana Waterthrush (Seiurus motacilla; Mexico) (the two sexes look alike):
Another Louisiana Waterthrush (Mexico):
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus; Michigan; the two sexes look alike):
Beautiful pictures, as always. I don’t know how you photograph so many different species!
I agree–just beautiful. The warblers are one good-looking family.
Could someone please tell me how to submit photos to this great website?
Click oon “research interests” at upper right to get an email, for sending photos. Limit is about 12-15, and be sure to use high-quality, hi-res photos with Linnaean nomenclature and IDs and a bit of description. I’ll post a “how to submit photos page soon.
Thanks!
These were all very nice. What makes a warbler a warbler?
Taxonomists place New World warblers in the family Parulidae, which based on molecular-genetic and other evolutionary evidence seems to be a monophyletic group of birds stemming ultimately from common ancestry. All of these are small, active, mostly arboreal species and I find many of them to be truly beautiful. But there are also many so-called “warblers” in the Old World. These apparently have a different ancestry from parulids in the Americas and are not taxonomically aligned with them. In striking contrast to the parulids, most of the Eurasian warblers have drab plumages.
Thank you very much for this explanation. Yes, they are truly beautiful. And I like your description “hyperactive little sprites”.
“All of the Wood-Warbler species tend to be hyperactive little sprites, and in my experience they are extremely difficult to photograph well.” – Lovely photos, you certainly overcame the challenges involved in capturing the little critters on camera.