Ruby and Gold

Kinglets are often found actively searching for food in winter. 

Take a walk in the bare winter woods and you’ll undoubtedly notice kinglets – tiny, highly active songbirds feeding high in the trees.  They are in the Regulidae family, which comes from the Greek meaning ‘petty king or prince’, and refers to their regal, brightly colored crowns.  Legend has it that these little kings derived their names from a fable about the election of the king of birds, defined as the bird that could fly the longest distance.  While the eagle was able to outfly all other birds, he was beaten by a tiny bird that had secretly hidden itself in his feathers.   

This male Ruby-crowned Kinglet is showing his namesake ruby crown.

Here in Central Texas, you can find both Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets most reliably from November through March.  The Ruby-crowned kinglet (Regulus calendula) is about 4 inches long, an olive-gray color overall with darker wings and white wing bars.  The males have ruby crowns that are barely visible and often covered by other head feathers, until responding to aggressive encounters by other males or even curious humans.  They sometimes forage in mixed flocks of chickadees and titmice, and may also show their crowns when in close proximity to other birds.  

Female Ruby-crowned Kinglets lack the namesake ruby crown.

Golden-crowned kinglets (Regulus satrapa) are similar but slightly smaller than their ruby-crowned cousins.  The males have an orange crown patch bordered in yellow and black, while the females have crowns that are yellow and black.  The males also raise their crowns during aggressive encounters.  Both species of kinglets sing fairly frequently even in the winter, with the male ruby-crowns having a complex, rich warbling song, and the male golden-crowns having a much higher pitched, shorter song.

The female Golden-crowned Kinglet has a gold crown, but it lacks
the orange patch in the middle that only the males have.

Kinglets have a very rapid metabolism and their tiny size means they must constantly forage to keep up with their energy needs.  In fact, they are so small that it would take 3 to 5 birds to total a mere ounce! They are always in motion and continuously flicking their wings.  While seen most often gleaning insects and their over-wintering eggs from tree branches, they can forage anywhere from the ground to the treetops, and often catch active prey while hovering or flycatching.  

This Golden-crowned Kinglet paused briefly from its
nearly constant foraging and feeding.

If prevented from feeding for even twenty minutes, they may lose a third of their body weight and could starve to death within an hour.  Golden-crowns are the smallest birds to routinely survive freezing winter temperatures, and huddle together in protected areas at night.  Their populations decrease during severe winters, particularly when ice storms make foraging much more difficult.    

This season take the time to walk through the winter woods and listen for the gift of song given to us by these littlest of kings.  Take your binoculars, and see if you can spot their crowns of ruby and gold! 

Furtive Fledglings

 

Mixed woodland of oak and juniper in Central Texas is the only breeding habitat
for the Golden-cheeked Warbler.

As the temperature rises and late spring turns to early summer, many bird species are in the throes of caring for newly hatched nestlings (still in the nest) or fledglings (just out of the nest).  As you hike through our oak-juniper forests in the western part of Austin, you just may run across young families of our endangered bird, the Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia).

Adult Golden-cheeked Warblers arrive at their breeding grounds by mid-March, returning largely to the same areas each year and nesting from April to May. They are socially monogamous, with the males arriving before the females to establish their territory. Courtship behavior, rarely observed, involves the female collecting nesting material as the male sings a soft, twittering version of his song, flicking and spreading his wings and tail and sometimes bringing nesting material to the female. 

A male Golden-cheeked Warbler sings from a juniper to establish his territory.

The female chooses the nest site, often in a branched fork of an Ashe Juniper or Live Oak tree, and the nest is built in 4 days, camouflaged by bark strips from mature juniper trees and secured by spider silk. Females lay 3-4 eggs and for the first 3 days she broods or sits on the eggs continuously, being attended to and fed by the male. The eggs hatch in approximately 12 days, and the nestlings are altricial or born helpless and requiring significant parental care.  

Female Golden-cheeked Warblers typically don't have black throats,
but the ones that do are called 'bearded females'.

However, they leave the nest only 8 or 9 days after hatching, staying in the vicinity of their attendant parents, but usually huddled together and partially hidden in the trees. They continue to be cared for by both parents, who actively search for caterpillars and other insects in the foliage to bring directly to the fledglings.  

A fledgling Golden-cheeked Warbler.

The most obvious way to spot these furtive fledglings is by listening for the family group.  As a parent nears with food in its beak, the fledglings chip rapidly and flutter their wings, begging and hoping to be the one who gets the morsel of food.  They grow quiet once the parent takes off to forage again.  Once they get a bit older, they start to follow their foraging parents begging for food, eventually becoming more confident in their ability to fly and learning to forage for themselves. As they become even more independent, the young join the adults in mixed-species flocks in the woodlands before migration begins in July and early August.

This Golden-cheeked Warbler fledgling caught its own food!

If you hear or see a Golden-cheeked Warbler family foraging and feeding in our mixed woodlands, consider yourself lucky.  Of the nearly 360 bird species that breed in Texas, the Golden-cheeked Warbler is the only one that nests exclusively in Texas, so each one is a native Texan! 

Requisite Night

 

Light pollution is nearly non-existent in Big Bend,
allowing for spectacular star-filled night skies.

Most environmentally-minded individuals recognize the more talked about threats to our native wildlife, such as habitat fragmentation/loss, invasive species, and climate change, but not as many are aware of the dangers posed by light pollution. Up until the mid-1800s, humans and animals lived under night skies solely lit by the moon. Electric outdoor lighting became common in the early 20th century, but its use spread quickly, and the global extent of modern light pollution became clear.  

By 2016, it was possible to measure nocturnal artificial light with the advent of a comprehensive global satellite measurement system. Researchers found that more than 80% of the world’s population lived under light-polluted night skies, or skies where the glow of artificial light is significant enough that the stars disappear from view.  In the US and Europe, it was found that 99% of residents live under light-polluted skies.

Light pollution exposes animals to many dangers, including predators, starvation, exhaustion, and disorientation. Artificial light, like roads and fences, can create barriers that fragment habitat.  Slow-flying bats avoid feeding in or passing through illuminated areas for fear of predators such as owls and other birds of prey. Artificial light near their roosts can also delay their emergence at dusk when their insect prey is most abundant.  If they never leave their roost since it always appears to be light, they can even starve to death.  

Artificial nocturnal light can also lure animals in and lead to their destruction.  Many species of migratory songbirds are attracted to brightly lit structures at night, circling them, sometimes colliding into them, or becoming disoriented enough to lead to a depletion their energy stores which ends in exhaustion and the inability to complete their journey.  In some bird species, artificial light at night interferes with their ability to use natural polarized light from the sky to calibrate their internal compass.

Artificial light at night attracts insects, like this Luna Moth, 
and can disrupt normal behavior patterns.

Light pollution is also one of the many factors contributing to the rapid decline of insect populations.  Moths and other nocturnal insects orient themselves by moonlight, and this instinctual tendency is interrupted by artificial night light, luring them in to fly incessantly around a bright light, causing exhaustion, exposure to predators, and the potential to miss courtship cues from mates.  This is especially true for fireflies, as artificial night light can cause them to alter or cease their mating flashes.  Studies have also shown that light pollution can harm diurnal insects like monarchs, who flit and flutter all night when exposed to excessive light when they should be resting, and causing them to be disoriented from their migration route.

Light pollution facts and some easy solutions.

Unlike other environmental threats to wildlife, simple solutions to artificial nocturnal light exist.  The best solution is to have no nocturnal lighting other than natural conditions. If a light at night is truly needed, the amount that spills into wildlife habitat can be reduced through dimming, downward shielding, or switching to motion-activated lights. Studies are also showing that lights in the warmer color tones are less disruptive than bright white lights.

Travis Audubon promotes the Lights Out Initiative for Austin.

Austin is one of several cities across the US that participates in the migratory bird friendly Lights Out Initiative, which asks residents to turn out all non-essential lights from 11pm to 6am every night during spring migration (March 1 – June 15) and fall migration (August 15 – November 30).  This is one of many ways we can prevent light pollution from overpowering our native wildlife. Turn out your lights when they are not needed, and welcome the requisite night!

Irruption Disruption

Pine Siskins often feed in groups or flocks

While many northern species of birds fly south through central Texas during fall migration, some species go no further, and spend their winters in the area. Our generally mild winters and higher availability of food sources are the reasons they stay, fueling themselves in the cooler months as they prepare for northward migration in the spring.  

This cycle is not always predictable, however, as there are a few overwintering bird species that are nearly absent in some years, and overly abundant in other years.  One such species is the Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus), a small finch-sized, seed-eating bird with a sharp pointed bill, short notched tail, and streaky brown overall with subtle yellow edging on the wings and tail.  They flash yellow wing markings as they flutter while feeding or burst into flight, and usually occur in fairly large, gregarious flocks.  Their wheezy twitters are a dead giveaway, and they will stay all winter near a dependable food source.  

Pine Siskin showing the yellow edging on wings and tail

Pine Siskins range widely and erratically across North America every winter in response to seed crops, and flocks may monopolize your feeders one winter and be completely missing the next. In the winters when Pine Siskins are abundant, the phenomenon is referred to as an irruption.  In the bird world, irruptions, broadly defined as sudden changes in population density, refer to the movement of northern-wintering bird species to the south in years of low food availability. However, some recent bird banding studies suggest that some pine siskins fly west to east while others fly north to south in search of winter food.

While fairly common, the overall population of Pine Siskins is difficult to estimate due to their unpredictable seasonal movements.  However, this species is considered to be in steep decline, with an estimated 69% decline in numbers from 1966 to 2019.  Natural threats include predation by outdoor domestic cats, squirrels, hawks, and jays.  Man-made threats include pesticides, mineral deposits from salts used to melt ice and snow, outbreaks of salmonella from unsanitary feeders, and forest clearing.

Pine Siskins will quickly empty your feeders!

Winter flocks of Pine Siskins can be aggressive around food sources, often trying to disrupt and challenge feeding competitors by lowering their heads and spreading their wings and tail. They may even lunge toward and pick fights with other seed-eating birds such as Lesser Goldfinches and House Finches. Keep an eye on your feeders this winter and you just may witness this irruption disruption, when flocks of these birds can eat you out of house and home!

Odd Ducks

Waterfowl in winter's morning mist on Lady Bird Lake.

Wintertime is the perfect time to look for ducks in central Texas.  Several species that breed far north of our state’s border return to Texas in the colder months to feed in our unfrozen freshwater lakes and rivers.  From the Old English ‘duce’, the word duck is a derivative of the verb meaning to duck or dive, or bend down low as if to get under something.  It best describes the way many ducks feed, by upending or diving under the water in search of a wide variety of food sources, such as small aquatic plants, grasses, fish, insects, amphibians, worms and mollusks.

Most ducks fall into either the dabbler or diver category.  Dabblers feed on the surface of the water, and sometimes on land, while divers disappear completely beaneath the surface and forage deep underwater.  In general, divers are heavier than dabblers, which gives them the ability to submerge more easily, but they often pay the price by having more difficulty when taking off to fly. 

While there are several species of ducks that are commonly found in central Texas winters, those that are more rarely seen usually occur singly or in small numbers.  These ‘odd ducks out’ include species such as the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), Redhead (Aythya americana), and Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera).

A pair of Hooded Mergansers (female behind, male in front).

The Hooded Merganser is an uncommon diving duck that is found on forested wetlands, rivers, and backwaters. The male has a black bill and head, with a large white head patch that is conspicuous and fan-shaped when the elegant crest or hood is raised.  His black and white breast and back gives way to chestnut sides.  Females are generally browner, including their bushy crest, with some white only in the wing feathers.  Hooded Mergansers are one of the few species of ducks that nest in tree cavities rather than on dry ground near water, and the females may start scouting for next year’s tree cavity at the end of each breeding season.

A handsome male Hooded Merganser with his crest on full display.

The Redhead is a locally common diving duck, with the male having a rounded chestnut head, black breast, and smoky gray back and sides.  The female is tawny brown with a mostly slate bill with a pale band bordering a black tip.  The male’s bill is similarly patterned, but is mainly pale blue instead of slate.  Redheads prefer ponds and lakes with open waters, and sometimes winter in large flocks called rafts.  They fly faster than most ducks with a rapid, shallow wingbeat, and are sociable ducks that are usually found feeding with other duck species in a mixed flock.

Redhead ducks are aptly named.

An overall cinnamon color distinguishes the male Cinnamon Teal from the rich brown of the female, but both have a teal blue forewing patch.  The male also has a white face crescent and a vertical white flank patch.  Cinnamon Teals are dabbling ducks that can be sometimes be found on quiet marshes, ponds, and lakes in winter, typically near the edges of vegetation.  Males molt soon after breeding, but regain their rich reddish plumage by midwinter. While this species is not endangered, its population is declining due to pollution, recreational hunting, and the loss of wetland habitat.

Cinnamon Teal prefer wetland habitats with emergent vegetation.

The next time you venture out to a lake, river, or pond this winter, check the water’s edge and scan the flocks to see if you can spot one of Austin’s odd ducks!   

 

Cooling Conduct

Eastern Ringtail dragonflies obelisking

The unrelenting heat this summer has affected all living creatures, and while humans can escape into air-conditioned spaces, wildlife needs to rely on other ways to regulate their body temperature.  Often this is accomplished through different types of behavioral strategies acquired through adaptation, and some may seem quite odd until you understand the dynamics at work.

One of the most obvious behaviors (for humans at least), is sweating.  But many creatures don’t have sweat glands, or only sweat from their feet (like some canines), so they rely on panting instead.  In panting, animals breathe rapidly and shallowly with their mouths open, thereby increasing evaporation from the surfaces of their mouths.  This evaporation removes heat and acts as a cooling mechanism.  Panting is used by most mammals (like dogs) and many species of birds. While panting is effective at removing heat, dehydration is a risk so a nearby water source is important.  Birds may also spread their wings and body feathers to allow heat to dispel, and they have an elaborate breathing system that includes air sacs (in addition to lungs) to help them get rid of excess heat through panting.

A molting Northern Cardinal, panting and spreading its wings to cool down

Some birds, such as some species of vultures and storks, will voluntarily defecate on their legs to cool down.  Since bird poop is mostly liquid, it works by having an evaporative cooling effect, much like sweating.  As the poop dries on the bird’s legs, the heat is carried away and it brings down their body temperature.  Pelicans, herons, doves, owls, quail, and nighthawks, can employ gular fluttering, vibrating the muscles and bones in the throat and exposing moist throat membranes to the air, which helps regulate temperature by increasing evaporation.

Insects, like most all creatures, can also maintain a stable body temperature in at least a portion of their bodies through some interesting behavioral means.  While many insects need some heat to warm up their flying muscles, many will adjust/reduce their activity levels or seek out shady spots to handle extreme heat.  Dragonflies, for example, will often obelisk while perched in the midday hot sun, or point the tip of their abdomen directly up at the sun.  It is believed that this behavior reduces the heating effect by reducing the amount of surface area exposed directly to the sun’s rays.

Checkered Setwing exhibiting obelisking as a cooling behavior

When temperatures soar, four-legged animals such as squirrels, marmots, rabbits, bears, and even dogs and cats will lie flat on their stomachs on a cooler surface with their arms and legs stretched out from their bodies.  This behavior is called splooting, and it is thought that since their bellies have less fur and lots of blood vessels, they can dissipate the heat and absorb some of the coolness from the surface.  Also known as frogging or pancaking, splooting can take on various forms: the full sploot (all four legs out), the classic sploot (one leg tucked underneath the body while the other is kicked back), the side sploot (one leg tucked under the body and the other kicked out to the side), and the reverse sploot or toolps (when the animal lays on its back with its legs in the air)!

Fox Squirrel in a full sploot on our back porch

Regardless of the method, we all have to find some form of cooling conduct that allows us to survive until temperatures fall and (hopefully) the rains begin once again.

 

Breeding Beauties

White-eyed Vireo nest, a sign of spring

As the fickle winds of  spring come in from  the south, they usher in several  species of birds  that spend the warmer months  in Central Texas.  Most of these species overwinter in Mexico, Central America, or South America, and their arrival in  our  area  signals  the start of the  breeding season.  Most notable  are the  Summer Tanager,  White-eyed Vireo,  Western Kingbird, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Summer Tanagers (Piranga rubra) are medium-sized, chunky songbirds with big bodies, large heads, and thick, pale, blunt-tipped bills.  Mature males are the only birds in North America that are completely red.  The female and immature males are bright yellow-green, which makes them harder to spot in the forest canopy. These birds prefer to stay fairly high in the trees, often in willows, cottonwoods, and mesquite along creeks and streams.  They prefer to sit still then fly out to catch insects in midair.  They are especially fond of bees and wasps, beating them against a branch once they are caught, but they may also forage on berries and fruits near their forest habitat.  Males have a sweet, whistling song, much like an American Robin.

Summer Tanager, male

Like most vireos, White-eyed Vireos (Vireo griseus) are small songbirds with compact bodies and thick, slightly hooked bills.  They have yellow spectacles around their white eyes, yellow-washed sides, gray head, white throat, and two white wingbars.  They prefer areas that are scrubby and thick with vines and other vegetation, staying hidden in the understory where they glean caterpillars and other insects. Their song is distinctive, rapid and harsh, sounding like ‘Spit. And see if I care. Spit.’ While only the males sing on their breeding grounds, both males and females have been found to sing on their wintering grounds.  They bathe by rubbing their bodies against dewy foliage in the early morning, or by quickly dipping their backsides in a pool of water.

White-eyed Vireo

Oddly often found in parking lots with Live Oak trees, Western Kingbirds (Tyrannus verticalis) are fairly large flycatchers with gray heads, broad shoulders, whitish chest, lemon yellow bellies, heavy straight black bills, and medium-length black tails with white outer tail feathers.  They prefer open habitats, often perching on power lines, fences, and in trees, waiting to hawk insects from the air.  In fact, their breeding range has been expanding as an unplanned result of humans planting trees and installing utility poles in open areas.  Their territory defenses include lots of wing-fluttering and a long series of squeaky, bubbling calls.  Paired males and females work together to defend their territory, which shrinks as the breeding season progresses.

Western Kingbird

Few birds are as graceful to watch as Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus fortificatus).  These elegant, slender birds are gray overall with salmon-pink flanks and underbellies, stout black bills, blackish wings, and long, forked tails they use to sharply twist and turn midair to catch insects.  Interestingly, Scissor-tails are known to use many human-made products in their nests, including pieces of cloth, paper, string, and even carpet fuzz and cigarette filters.  These items can account for up to 30% of the weight of the nests.  In late summer and early fall, these flycatchers gather to form large, bickering flocks and migrate together back to their wintering grounds.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, showing its' namesake tail

Birds and Berries

 

 A flock of over wintering Cedar Waxwings

Several species of birds overwinter in Texas during the colder months of the year, since food is typically more abundant here than in the northern parts of the country.  While many types of seed can provide nourishment when insects are not available, it is the berries that draw in large flocks of American Robins (Turdus migratorius) and Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum). 

American Robins are fairly large songbirds that are easily identified by a dark gray head, lighter gray back, yellow bill, and a rusty orange belly.  Throughout the fall and winter months they switch their diet from worms and insects to several types of berries, and often band together to form large flocks.  Look for them roosting in trees in moist woodland areas where berry-producing trees are shrubs are common, from November through mid-April.

American Robin

Cedar Waxwings are medium-sized songbirds with a sleek, silky look.  They are identified by a pale brown head with a crest that often lies flat, a narrow black mask outlined in white, a lemon-colored belly, and soft gray wings and tail. The tail is always tipped in bright yellow, and the wings have red waxy tips but they are not always easy to see. They also congregate in large flocks and are usually heard before seen, emitting a high-pitched trill as they fly about, from November through May.  They typically eat fruits year-round, depending on what is available.

Cedar Waxwing

In central Texas, overwintering American Robins eat berries from a variety of native plants, including Escarpment Black Cherry, Roughleaf Dogwood, Flameleaf Sumac, Ashe Juniper, Yaupon, Possumhaw, and Virginia Creeper.  In winter, Cedar Waxwings have a high preference for the berries of the Ashe Juniper, but will also eat the fruits of American Mistletoe, Texas Madrone, Roughleaf Dogwood, Yaupon, Possumhaw, and Coral Honeysuckle.

Ashe Juniper

It is important to note that these birds will also eat the berries of non-native, invasive plants such as Ligustrum species, Nandina, and Japanese Honeysuckle.  Since these unwelcome plants largely spread by bird droppings that contain the seeds of these fruits, replacing them with the native alternatives listed above is a responsible way to help safeguard against that spread.

Yaupon

From time to time, these birds can become intoxicated if they eat too much fruit that has fermented. Berries and other fruits can ferment in late fall and winter when frosts and freezes occur, which concentrates the sugar in the berries. When these cold periods are followed by warmer weather it accelerates the breakdown of the sugars into sugar alcohol, at a more potent level than might normally be present.  

Possumhaw

Like humans, drunken birds show signs of irregular movement and the inability to avoid obstacles, and some immature birds even risk the chance of death through alcohol poisoning.  Recent research shows, however, that birds such as Cedar Waxwings may have some natural protection against drunkenness due to their fairly large livers (for birds), as those livers can more effectively break down the alcohol to safely remove it from their bodies.

Each year, the numbers of American Robins and Cedar Waxwings present during a central Texas winter can fluctuate wildly.  In some years, when ample rains produce berries in copious amounts, these birds will appear in large flocks. But during drought years when berries are scarce, especially on junipers, these birds are found in much lower numbers.

Hummingbird Homecoming

 

Hummingbird feeders are busy during spring migration!

Early spring marks the beginning of several natural events, and one of the most welcome is the return of hummingbirds to central Texas.  While the number of hummingbirds migrating north in the spring is only about half of those migrating north in the fall (as the fall migration includes all immature birds that hatched in the summer as well as surviving adults), spring migration for these tiny birds is nonetheless an incredible feat.

Most scientists believe that the lengthening of daylight hours triggers the journey north, and evidence exists that hummingbirds follow a different route in the spring versus the fall.  While they follow the Texas coast south in the fall, presumably to avoid hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, in the spring they travel north hundreds of miles non-stop directly over the gulf’s calmer waters. 

Hummingbird feeders, filled with a clear solution (no red dye) of one-part white table sugar to four-parts water, should be placed out in early March.  Records show that the migrating hummers start arriving in our area at that time.  While these migrants can include more northern species that are just passing through, they mainly include the arrival of species that breed in our area, such as the Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Black-chinned Hummingbird, male

Measuring a mere three and one-half inches long with a three and three-quarter-inch wing span, the Black-chinned hummingbird weighs only three to three and one-half grams, which is about equivalent to the weight of a dime plus a dollar bill. The male is dull metallic green above, gray below, black on the chin and upper throat, with an iridescent violet lower throat known as a gorget (pronounced gore-jet). The female lacks the characteristic coloring on the chin, upper throat, and lower throat.  Ruby-throated hummingbirds are also only about three and one-half inches long with the adult male having a black upper chin and ruby-red gorget, and they are a more eastern species with Austin being the westernmost border of their range. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, male

Like all hummingbirds, nectar serves as a main food source, fueling the tiny bird’s extreme metabolism.  These hummingbirds feed on several species of blooming plants, most notably native penstemons, agaves, salvias, sages, and honeysuckles.  While artificial feeders supplement their diet, they also prey on insects and spiders, particularly during nesting season, which gives them the dietary fat and protein necessary to breed.

The hummingbird’s unique skeletal structure allows them to fly forwards, backwards, sideways, and even on their backs!  This requires a wingbeat frequency of about 50 beats per second, and massive muscles that make up a third of their tiny body weight.  While the males perform an elaborate flight display during courtship, no pair bond is formed between the males and females.  Females build the tiny nest (out of spider webs, mosses, and various plant fibers), incubate the eggs, and raise the young, while the males are feeding and off chasing other females.  This is unusual among birds as a whole, since this class of animals exhibits the greatest amount of monogamy among vertebrates (animals with a backbone or spinal column).

Rufous Hummingbird. male

While most hummingbird species have moved out of our area by late October, be sure to leave a feeder out for stragglers and northern species that may spend the winter in your yard.  The most common overwintering species is the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), but you can sometimes get a wayward winter visitor such as a Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris), a rare species in our area that arrived on our back porch feeder on September 11, 2021 and is still with us!

Broad-billed Hummingbird, male

Magical Migrant

Typical hummingbirds in our area include Black-chinned and Ruby-throated.

Known for their diminutive size, long thin bills, and amazing agility in flight, hummingbirds are in the order Apodiformes, meaning ‘unfooted birds’, as they have characteristically tiny feet and are unable to walk on the ground. They are in the avian family Trochilidae, often described as a group of more than 300 species of small, often brilliantly colored hummingbirds.  

While we frequently have Black-chinned and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds here during the warmer months, we also generally expect to have a Rufous Hummingbird spend the winter in our yard.  As such, we are used to keeping a feeder up all year round, but imagine our surprise when a male Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris) showed up at our feeder on September 11th!

The male Broad-billed Hummingbird at our back porch feeder.

Most of the Broad-bill’s range lies in Mexico, but it normally spends the breeding season in the mountains of extreme southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico, where it prefers semi-shaded stream canyons and riparian areas with sycamores, cottonwoods, and willows.  They are short-distance migrants, and their winter range is typically entirely within Mexico.  Very few remain in the U.S. in winter, usually very near the Mexican Border, so to find one in Central Texas is a rare treat!

The brilliantly beautiful male Broad-billed Hummingbird!

Broad-bills are a rather small hummingbird with a long, straight bill and a center tail notch.  The male’s vivid red bill, rich emerald green body, and glittering sapphire blue throat (also called a gorget) is unmistakable!  Females are golden-green above and pale gray below, with a white line behind the eye.  When courting the female, the male hovers about a foot from the female and makes a flight display that is likened to a precise swing of a hypnotist’s pocket watch.  

The male Broad-billed Hummingbird perches in our Escarpment Black Cherry
in between trips to the feeder.

The female typically chooses a nest site about three feet off the ground in a downward-hanging tree branch or shrub. They weave 1-inch tall, 0.75-inch wide cups of bark strips, grasses, and leaves held together with spider silk that appear similar to clumps of vegetation deposited in branches during periods of high water, offering them a degree of natural camouflage.  After laying a clutch of 2 to 3 white eggs, the female incubates them and raises the young alone.

In the warmer months these hummers visit flower gardens but rely on sugar water feeders in winter when blooms are not readily available.  They consume more than 1.5 times their body weight in nectar each day, and often travel long distances between nectar sources.  They feed most often in the morning and late afternoon, which is when flowers produce the most nectar. Broad-bills can also capture tiny insects by gleaning them from plants and flycatching.  As small as they are, they often join others birds in mobbing owls perched during the day, to reinforce to young ones what predators look like or to help drive potential predators away.

There are 5 or 6 similar subspecies of Broad-bills in Mexico, but only the subspecies magicus is known to occur in the U.S.  Climate change has already begun to reshape the range of this hummer, although scientists believe that the vulnerability of this species will remain fairly stable overall.  It has been estimated that for its current range, about 16% has already been lost in the mountains of Mexico, 85% is maintained, and 35% is gained by expanding further north into Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas.  Whatever the outcome, we welcome this magical migrant, and hope that he spends the entire winter with us!

The Simple Beauty of Sparrows

White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys

Coming from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘spearwa’ and literally meaning ‘flutterer’, sparrows often conjure up images of the ubiquitous and non-native House sparrow and the House finch, which isn’t a sparrow at all.  While most sparrows are generally small to medium brown birds with streaks, the differences between sparrows can best be determined by their relative size, head markings, and habitat.

White-throated Sparrow, Zonotrichia albicollis

All sparrows have conical bills that they use to shell seeds, a primary component of their diet year-round, but especially so in the winter months.  There is little difference between the males and the females in terms of appearance, but males are on average larger than females.  As a group, most sparrows are birds of grasslands, prairies, and marshes, and seem to prefer weedy fields and woodland edges in the winter.  Of the sparrow species that migrate, none travel further than the southern United States or northern Mexico.

Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina

One of our most common winter sparrows is the Chipping sparrow.  Small and slim, with a long notched tail, rusty cap, white stripe over the eye and a black line through the eye, this sparrow moves in loose flocks and frequently feeds in short grass and open woods.  While still fairly abundant, this sparrow is declining in numbers, mainly due to habitat destruction, and winters in the southern part of the United States.  When first identified in 1810 by an American ornithologist, it was nicknamed ‘the social sparrow’ for it was easily approached and associated with human habitation.

White-crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys 

A fairly large sparrow, the White-crowned sparrow is distinguished by its black and white striped head, unmarked gray breast, and dark pink bill.  It is found in large groups in thickets and weedy areas, foraging on the ground.  Discovered in 1772 by a German naturalist, this sparrow was originally named the ‘white-eyebrowed bunting’, for in the Old World, sparrows were usually called buntings. 

Found in a variety of grassy habitats, and often in small flocks, is the Savannah sparrow. Streaked on both their back and their breast, Savannah’s have pink legs, yellow above the eye, a thin white median crown stripe, and a short notched tail.  First described by a British ornithologist in 1790, it was called a ‘sandwich bunting’ due to the first specimens being collected from Sandwich Bay in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska.   

Lincoln's Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii

Lincoln’s sparrow is a medium-sized bird with a rather short tail, broad gray stripe above the eye, buffy moustache stripe, and a buffy upper breast with crisp, blackish streaks.  Found in winter in brushy edges of ponds and other moist areas, this sparrow was named by John James Audubon in 1833 after his research companion, Thomas Lincoln, shot the first specimen in Labrador.       

Sparrows are gregarious and are often our most hardy winter visitors.  Adorned in various shades of brown, gray, black, and white, they reflect the subdued hues of a winter landscape.  Often dismissed as ‘little brown birds’ when seen with the naked eye, these birds invite closer inspection and are nature’s way of reminding us that subtle colors and patterns can be beautiful, too!