The Wild Canary in Akwesasne

When it is springtime, one of the things I look forward to seeing is the return of the locally called “Wild Canary” also known in the bird world as the Yellow Warbler. A pair of these warblers have nested in the far end of my backyard for the past several years. Sadly, someone cut down the shrubs they used to nest in, so I do not know if they will nest nearby again this year. If they do not, I will miss their delightful song and their brilliant flash of yellow as they dart from limb to limb. The song, once heard, is easily remembered. It sounds like the bird is saying the words, sweet, sweet, oh so sweet. The male sings as he sits on a high, exposed perch. Some people say it sounds like he is saying, see-see-see-titi-see. The males have one predominant song pattern that they sing during most of the day, but at dawn and when there is an aggressive encounter, the male will sing a variety of other songs. The females give a high frequency “chip” call when the male finishes singing, and she also sings a set of songs.

Many warblers are yellow, but the Yellow Warbler is the most yellow of any warbler species. This bird who loves willows and mangroves is the only warbler with yellow tail spots. It is a small songbird with a thin pointed bill. It is mostly yellow. The male has chestnut streaks on his chest, and his face, throat, and underparts are a bright yellow. The chestnut streaks are below his throat. The Yellow Warbler’s upperparts are yellow-green to olive, and their wings are edged in yellow. The Yellow Warbler is common, but due to loss of riparian woodland habitat and extensive paratism by cowbirds, they have experienced a huge population decline. There has been a significant increase in population in areas where grazing and herbicide were restricted, which permitted the regrowth of riparian vegetation. One subspecies, the Barbados Yellow Warbler, D. petechia petechia, is on the US endangered species list.

Yellow Warblers build very well-built open-cup nests that are easily parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds. The Cowbirds never build their own nests. They will often lay their eggs in Yellow Warbler’s nests. When this happens, the nest may be abandoned or it will be covered over by the Yellow Warblers with a new lining, which in turn can involve the covering of their own eggs. Sometimes these covered over nests will end up being several layers deep. The adult Yellow Warblers because of their strong parental instincts will sometimes feed and raise the Cowbird eggs.

Occasionally, some warbler young do survive along with the Cowbird young, but the Cowbirds are so big, they usually knock the baby Yellow Warblers right out of the now shared nest before they are ready to fly. Not all birds put up with this intrusion by the Cowbirds. Robins and Catbirds simply toss the strange eggs out of their nests. Yellow Warblers mostly bury the cowbird eggs under a new nest lining. Other birds simply leave and build another nest. Western Kingbirds, Eastern Kingbirds, Blue Jays, Cedar Waxwings and Northern Orioles almost always reject Cowbird eggs. Some species, such as the Kirtland’s Warblers, Least Bell’s Vireos and Black-capped Vireos, are already endangered, and they are at significant risk from Cowbirds. Extinction is close at hand for those species and it will not take much to put them over the edge.

Yellow Warblers are important predators of insects, especially potential pest species, in the ecosystems in which they live. They also help to disperse fruit seeds when they eat fruit. We should all welcome them and other birds as some of them were given the job, by the Creator, to rid our gardens and home areas of unwanted insect pests. Other dangers to Yellow Warblers and other nesting birds is well-meaning adults  and children who find baby birds on the ground. One should never touch these birds because if they are feathered, they are learning how to be on their own. Children should be told about the importance of these birds and told to never chase or capture these poor little infants who are struggling to survive. The parents of that baby on the ground will continue to feed and protect it until it takes its first flight.  As we humans take over more and more of their territories it is becoming harder for our bird brothers and sisters to survive. As Haudenosaunee, it is in our original instructions to appreciate and help them when and as much as we can. All humans should respect the things made by the Creator.

The Yellow Warbler’s Latin name is, Dendroica petechia. The Yellow Warbler was first categorized in 1766 by the Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician, Carolus Linnaeus.  The male Yellow Warbler can be easily identified by its golden yellow plumage and rusty streaks on his breast. The females and immature are similar to other mostly yellow warblers, and they are less bright than the males.   When they appear in May, a group of them is called a “stream, “sweetness”, and “trepidation” of warblers. They will breed from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland and south to southern California and northern Oklahoma and northern Georgia. Their winter are spent in southern Florida and the tropics. They prefer habitats that are on the edges of marshes and swamps, willow-lined streams, leafy bogs, farmlands, orchards, forest edges, and suburban gardens and yards.

Their habitats include the edges of marshes and swamps, willow-lined streams, and leafy bogs. The Yellow Warbler will also inhabits dry areas such as thickets, orchards, farmlands, forest edges, and suburban yards and gardens. They prefer areas of scattered trees, dense shrubbery, and any other moist, shady areas. The Yellow Warbler is an insect feeder but it will occasionally supplement its diet with berries. You can sometimes see them hawking for insects and spiders near trees, bushes, and house. Hawking is when they move their wings in a way that enables them to hover in the air in one place like a helicopter. Some hawks will do that when searching fields for food, hence the name. Small insect larvae and caterpillars are the Yellow Warblers preferred food. This tiny bird weighs a mere 0.56  to 0.88 ounces, and it measures a little under 4 to 7 inches long. It has a wingspan that measures almost 8 inches. They will usually only breed once a year, but if their first attempt fails they may breed again.  They will have 1 to 6 eggs that will hatch in 10 to 14 days. They do not become independent for at least 22 to 26 days after hatching. After the young mature, some of the fledglings will stay by their mother, and the others will stay by their father. They can live up to 10 years. It is interesting to note that these birds not only communicate with their songs, they communicate with each other through body posture and touch.

If you have a computer and would like to hear this bird’s song visit the following Website: http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6520id.html  To take a Bird trivia contest go to:

http://www.meckbirds.org/justfun/neotropics.htm To go to a children’s Website that contains bird calls translated into easy to learn words, go to: 

http://www.fun-activities-for-kids.com/bird-calls-for-kids/ 

When I searched the Web hoping to find some trivia, strange, or fun facts for the Yellow warbler, I found there was very little I had not already mentioned in my article. I did, however, find this bit of information you may find of interest. The information was listed on a Website (a blog) where visitors to the site list errors they have spotted while viewing movies. The errors are then researched and their validity as errors, if they are errors, are  factualized. Someone wrote in that they had watched the movie, a drama entitled “Finding Forester,” (2000) Directed by Gus Van Sant, starring Anna Paquin, F. Murray Abraham, and Sean Connery. They said that in one scene, Sean Connery’s character videotaped a bird as he looked out of his apartment window. He then said that the bird was an adult male Connecticut Warbler. Sean Connery’s character then shows the image on his camcorder to the character Rob Brown is portraying, and the movie viewer also sees this image. The bird is definitely not a Connecticut Warbler. It happens to be an adult male Yellow Warbler. The person who sent in the error felt there is no way anyone could confuse the two species, and I agree. The Connecticut Warbler has a gray colored hood that covers its head, throat and chest, and the Yellow Warbler is a very bright, distinctive yellow. One has to wonder how such an error could happen. For the writers, editors, etc. to come up with a warbler named the Connecticut Warbler, someone had to know something about warblers. There are so many guides on identifying warblers, and there are numerous sites with that information on the Web.

Since I am very curious, I would like to know how or why this happened. If I find out why on the Internet, I will share the information.