This is a very yellow warbler! Actually, it is such a yellow warbler that it is a Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). If you ever wonder why I capitalize all the common names of birds it is for primarily this reason among a couple others (email list serv posts being another big one). Not everyone knows scientific names, and when referring to these common names, the birds should have a certain recognition that they are a species and not a yellow warbler – like a Prairie Warbler, or a Common Yellowthroat, or a Wilson’s Warbler, or others!
And if you ever spot a little gull, be sure to let people know it is a Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus) and not a diminutive bird of some sort. I could go on but this vibrant Yellow Warbler deserves our attention instead…after all, they will only be here for so much longer on their journey south.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
