Verdin - Auriparus flaviceps

[c.j.]

CJ's Desert Dwellers: Verdin Auriparus flaviceps

Family: Remizadae

Length: 10 cm (4 in)
Wingspan: 150 cm (6 in)
Weight: 5.3 g (.19 oz)

The Verdin Auriparus flaviceps is a desert dweller. It is a resident of the southwest United States and north and western Mexico.

A very small bird, gray, with a distinctive yellowish head, a sharply pointed bill and a relatively short tail. There is a small rufous patch in the bend of the wing that is often hidden. (This patch is absent in juveniles.)

Usually a solitary bird that moves rather quickly and acrobatically through the trees and brush in search of small insects, fruit and nectar.

It's call is a high piercing tsweef; also a lower, strong, whistled tee too too



In this photo the Verdin Auriparus flaviceps was peeling back the seed cover of a Velvet Mesquite Prosopis velutina to extract the little insect inside. They have been frequenting my hummingbird feeders, as well.

Sources:
Peterson's Field Guides: Western Birds
Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds


Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Canon Lens EF 300 mm 1:4 L IS
Canon Extender EF 1.4x II

1/200
f/16
Handheld
Cropped