What is that masked bird? It's the common yellowthroat
Warblers are small, often colorful birds that can't sit still. Since they are bug eaters, they have been returning to our neighborhood in recent weeks.
Some will stay and nest here during the summer, while others are just passing through on their way to more northern nesting grounds.
To the uninitiated, sorting through the 54 species of warblers can be a bit challenging. The names alone can drive you nuts. For example, there is a yellow warbler, a yellow-rumped warbler, a yellow-throated warbler, and a common yellowthroat - which is a warbler and the subject of this column.
The common yellowthroat is a warbler that stays for the summer. On one notable Mother's Day, I was able to easily watch one of these miniature migrants. This hyperactive showoff was so brazen, or just hungry, that binoculars were not required.
The yellowthroat was perched on a dead branch located inches above the water along the pond shoreline here at Stillman. The bird was intent on flitting across the water in pursuit of unseen insects. Typically, this species forages close to the ground or in low vegetation.
When he returned to his perch, I could clearly see the whole bird. About five inches long, the common yellowthroat is olive-green above and bright yellow below.
A mature male, which this bird clearly was, sports a black mask edged in white. Its distinctive mask has earned this warbler an appropriate nickname, "the lone ranger bird."
Females are similar but lack the black mask. (Females, by the way, seem to favor males with larger masks.) Is it any wonder that this striking species was one of the first New World birds to be scientifically cataloged?
Yellowthroats nest across much of North America. They are usually found in brushy places, weeds, briars, cattails, sedges and willows near swamps, marshes and streams. Winters are spent in southern states and the tropics.
Birds that annually head north and south across the Western hemisphere are called Neotropical migrants. As the common yellowthroat demonstrates, this can be a daunting journey. Keep in mind that this little bird weighs just over a third of an ounce.
Warblers generally migrate at night and feed during the day. So, unnaturally bright lights at night can distract the birds and cause significant migrant mortality.
During five September nights in 1939, 2,060 birds were found dead at Long Point lighthouse located on the Ontario side of Lake Erie; 254 of these were yellowthroats. Since then, fortunately, steps have been taken to minimize such losses.
Violent storms over the ocean also take their toll. In May 1951, a strong cold front with heavy rains killed 2,421 birds as it crossed Padre Island, Texas; 405 of these birds were yellowthroats. Migrants also will land on ships and oil rigs to take refuge from intemperate weather.
Should a male yellowthroat survive the trials of migration, he is not bashful about letting the world and prospective mates know. The species has a distinctive and memorable song that is paraphrased as "wich-i-ty, wich-i-ty, wich-i-ty."
When I hear that call I can't help but smile. It might as well be the William Tell Overture. The "lone ranger" flies again.
• Mark Spreyer is executive director of the Stillman Nature Center in Barrington. Email him at stillnc@wildblue.net.