Tag: american bird conservancy

The Worm-Eating Warbler(Helmitheros vermivorum) haunts the forest interior, where its mechanical-sounding trills can be heard along steep, leaf-carpeted hillsides. A quick glimpse of the singer reveals a rather plain-looking olive, brown, and buff warbler with a boldly striped head. This head pattern distinguishes it from other brown forest warblers such as the Swainson’s Warbler(Limnothlypis swainsonii), which has a brown crown, occasionally tinged with rufous instead.

The Worm-Eating Warbler is the only member of its genus, Helmitheros, and is not closely related to any other warbler species. Both its genus and … Continue

The Western Kingbird(Tyrannus verticalis), as its name implies, can be found across a wide area of the western United States and southern Canada. This colorful counterpart of the Eastern Kingbird(Tyrannus tyrannus) is a member of the tyrant flycatcher family, a huge group of New World birds that includes species ranging from the fiery little Vermilion Flycatcher(Pyrocephalus rubinus) of the American southwest, and Central and South America to the Cock-Tailed Tyrant(Alectrurus tricolor), a resident of South American savannas.

Although many bird species were adversely impacted by the waves of European … Continue

The Island Scrub-Jay(Aphelocoma insularis) holds a unique title: the only island endemic bird species of mainland North America. Once part of the species known simply as Scrub Jay which was split into separate species in 1998, the Island Scrub-Jay is noticeably larger and more brightly-colored than its near relatives, including the Florida Scrub-Jay(Aphelocoma coerulescens). Fossil remains suggest that it probably diverged from its closest relative, the California Scrub-Jay(Aphelocoma californica), about 150,000 years ago.

Like other species endemic to islands, such as Darwin’s famous finches and birds of the … Continue