Nothing but Butter Butts

Back in October I posted a series of photos of fall plumaged Cape May Warblers feeding on aphids. Today it’s Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Yellow-rumped Warblers have been variously known or referred to as Myrtle Warblers, Butter Butts, Dendroica coronata and Setophaga coronata. By whatever name, they’re still the same species and are the most often encountered warbler during North Carolina’s winter season.

As I stood in Catch the Wind on a sunny day during the first week of December I watched a flock of these versatile birds attack a Wax Myrtle, scoffing up the berries with wild fury. Luckily, the myrtle didn’t have many leaves on it allowing me to get a handful of acceptable photos, here’s some of them.

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The following three photos are of the same bird selecting and eating one of the wax myrtle’s berries.

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And finally this last bird gives us a glimpse of where the species name coronata came from.

Although dressed in the dull plumage of winter, there’s a hint of what will become a brilliant yellow crown on top of the head.

And that’s all for now.

 

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