A Verdin drinking nectar in our honeysuckle on the backyard patio.
Verdin – Auriparus flaviceps
I mistakenly identified this little bird as a Lesser Goldfinch the other day in a blog post. A fellow birdwatcher, author and blogger Eilene Lyon of Myricopia told me it’s a Verdin because it doesn’t have the yellowish body. I use the Merlin app to identify birds by their calls. I often have Verdin in my yard and hear them, but this is the first time I saw one and got a photo.
As you can see from the one photo I captured, this little bird is barely larger than a hummingbird. It has a bright yellow head, chestnut shoulder patch and a white body. Originally, I saw hummingbirds in the honeysuckle. I thought I got a good photo of one hanging upside down, but it turned out to be this guy!
Habitat
Verdins reside in arid deserts of the Southwest United States and Mexico. They avoid open spaces and live in washes and areas of desert with prickly thorny plants and trees such as cholla, creosote, mesquite and ironwood.
Food
They eat insects and seeds and fruit from desert plants as well as drink nectar. Aphids, caterpillars, beetles and spiders are a few of the insects they eat. They are also attracted to hummingbird feeders and drink that nectar.
Nesting
The male and female both build their nests, which are six-inch in diameter and a spherical shape. The outside is made of thorns and sticks, while the inside is filled with an inch of soft material like feathers, grasses and plant fibers. The female works mainly on the inside of the nest, while the male builds the exterior. They are not monogamous except through single breeding seasons, but do not stay together all year long.
Location
Calls
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Verdin/sounds
That’s a bird with which I am totally unfamiliar.
Cute little fellow.
😊
I have heard them and my Merlin app identified them for more than a year. I finally saw one!
A beautiful bird! I hope to see one on my hummer feeder, what luck that would be. I’ve heard that name before. 😍
I hope they visit your hummingbird feeder, too. All I ever got was Gila Woodpeckers on ours. They knocked it down and I never put it back up.
Thanks. I saw a Ladder Back woodpecker on my feeder last year. I had to send a pic to my sister to identify it.
Our Gila Woodpeckers would attach themselves to the hummingbird feeder and hang upside. They wouldn’t let go until it was empty!
Wow! Thats kinda crazy, Elizabeth.
That’s why I gave up on the hummingbird feeder.
Oh, bummer. I’ve not seen a woodpecker on the feeder since last year. Fingers crossed!
👍🏼
They’re so cute!
I agree. A very cute little bird.
I wish they came up into Colorado with those bright little heads! It would be like a ray of sunshine sitting in the trees.
I only had the one sighting, but the Merlin app identifies their calls. They must hide in trees and bushes.
According to that map, they should be where I live, but I can’t remember seeing such a bird. Maybe I’ve also been mistaking them for hummingbirds.
That could be. Since I’ve only seen one once, I think they hide in bushes and trees.
They’re very small. Bird watchers might need a microscope, rather than binoculars.
😅
Beautiful bird, with those contrasting colours. Did this individual have the path of red on the shoulders? I don’t think it shows in the photo
I didn’t see any red on it. But it was mostly hidden in the honeysuckle.
I have to remember to use your cards. Kind of a lost habit writing letters. They are pretty, the ones we ordered. Few people I care to write to who write back but when I find them, I keep in contact.
I need to create a few new cards. I haven’t made up my mind on the photos though and I don’t want to print too many and have too much stock on hand.
That makes sense.
😊
Wonderful photo.
Thanks! 😊
Wow, I’ve never heard of a Verdin. What a delicate and pretty bird!
This was my first sighting. Before moving to Arizona, I never heard of them either.
Lovely photo of a very pretty bird
I’m so glad it turned out. It was the only one I got!
A very sweet bird