Day 121: American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch can be found throughout temperate North America. They are both sexually and seasonally dimorphic birds, undergoing a complete molt. Male birds are bright yellow in the summer and an olive color in the winter, while females are a dull yellow-brown color which brightens some during the summer.

We are fortunate to have several American Goldfinches that frequent a feeder on our porch. This time of year, they are particularly beautiful and fun to watch. Evidently, the bright yellow plumage of males is derived from carotenoid pigments, which birds and all other vertebrates acquire from their diet. Females prefer to mate with males that exhibit the brightest colors and thus may acquire the most skilled foragers.

Day 120: Virginia Rail

A week or two ago, Jared and I were exploring a nearby marsh after work and came across a great bird - a Virginia Rail! Normally, Virginia Rails are very secretive freshwater birds that are more often heard than seen. The fact that we actually saw one and had a chance to get a few photos was really lucky.

The Virginia Rail probes mudflats and shallow water with its long, slightly decurved bill searching for invertebrates and small fish. 

Day 119: Killdeer

The Killdeer is one of the most wide-spread and familiar of North American plovers. They are migratory in northern areas and winter as far south as northern South America.

Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. Although technically shorebirds, Killdeer are often found away from shores, frequenting construction sites, road shoulders, gravel roads and driveways, graveled rooftops, lawns, pastures, and golf courses. 

Day 118: Gray Catbird

The Gray Catbird is a medium-sized bird that is named for its cat-like mewing call. It can also mimic the songs of other birds, tree frogs, and mechanical sounds. Because of its well-developed syrinx (the name for the vocal organ of birds), it is able to make two sounds at the same time.

Almost every time, I hear a catbird before I see it. It's cat-like call is really unmistakable, and they tend to hide in bushes and undergrowth.

Adult catbirds are gray almost all over, with a dark patch on the top of the head. They have rusty red-colored feathers under their tails. They can be found in temperate North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

Day 117: Common Yellowthroat

Good news - today I'm going to start blogging about Maryland birds, again. After more than a month of posting our favorite Puerto Rico bird photos, it was about time to revisit species that you can see in the United States. We have seen some beautiful birds recently, and hope to continue getting good photos during spring migration (that is underway with a fury).

Today, I have a particularly pretty bird for you, the Common Yellowthroat. This warbler is abundant throughout much of North America, breeding from southern Canada to central Mexico. We saw our first Common Yellowthroat of the year a few weeks ago, after they migrated to the area for the summer. I have been stalking them ever since, trying to get a good photo. Luckily, I caught one singing his little heart out!

Adult male Common Yellowthroats are striking; they are olive colored on top with bright yellow throats and chests and a black face mask.

Day 116: Loggerhead Kingbird

The Loggerhead Kingbird is similar to the Gray Kingbird, but with a browner back, a blackish upper head, and a yellow crown stripe. They can be found throughout much of the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico) and very rarely in the U.S.

Day 115: African Collared Dove

The African Collared Dove is a domesticated species that can breed in the wild. Over much of the world, people keep them as a pet or for food. It regularly breeds in Puerto Rico.

African Collared Doves have a brown back with a pointed tail and a light grey belly. They also have a black color around the back of the neck.

Day 114: Caribbean Martin

The Caribbean Martin can be found throughout the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico) and migrates to South America. It is a large swallow with a forked tail and is dark iridescent blue on top with a white belly.

Day 113: Puerto Rican Flycatcher

The Puerto Rican Flycatcher is endmic to the island, so we were happy to see one. It is dark brown on top and light underneath.

Day 112: Caribbean Elaenia

The Caribbean Elaenia is a small flycatcher with a dull brown back, faint yellow belly, and two white wing bars. When excited, a little crest on its head pops up.

The Caribbean Elaenia was first reported in Puerto Rico in 1963 and has become more common since then. It breeds throughout much of the Caribbean.

Day 111: Cave Swallow

Cave Swallows breed from southern Texas and New Mexico south to Peru, as well as in the Caribbean. They are blue-gray above with a chestnut-colored rump and forehead. They nest in colonies in caves, sea cliffs, and sinkholes, under bridges and on ledges of buildings.

We saw a flock of Cave Swallows on some wire outside of lagoon we visited in southwest Puerto Rico. They seemed to be relaxing and enjoying the breeze.

Day 110: Shiny Cowbird

The Shiny Cowbird breeds in most of South America and has recently colonized many of the Caribbean islands (including Puerto Rico). The Shiny Cowbird first reached the U.S. in 1985 when a single male was seen in the Florida Keys. By the early 1990s, they were considered permanent residents in southern Florida. In the next few years, individual Shiny Cowbirds were seen as far away as Maine and Nova Scotia.

The male Shiny Cowbird is all black with an iridescent purple-blue gloss. The smaller female is dark brown in plumage, paler on the underparts. As I mentioned in my post about the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, the Shiny Cowbird is a parasitic species, laying its eggs in the nests of many other bird species. Its spread has imperiled a number of endangered bird species in the Caribbean and raised conservation concerns in the U.S.

Day 109: Puerto Rican Bullfinch

The Puerto Rican Bullfinch is a black forest bird with large red/orange patches above the eyes, on the throat, and under the tail. We heard several Bullfinches during our trip, but they were hard to pin down for a good photo.

Day 108: Yellow-shouldered Blackbird

Today, I have another special bird that we saw in Puerto Rico, the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird. Jared, his mom Susan, and I made a point to seek this bird out, because there are only a few thousand that are alive today. Jared heard that they are reliably seen at a convenience store in southwestern Puerto Rico that puts out bird food, so that was on our list of places to stop. Almost as soon as we arrived, opened our bottles of Coke, and started looking, we spotted one in a tree right in front of us! We managed to get a decent look, but only one or two quick pictures, before the bird flew away.

The Yellow-shouldered Blackbird is a glossy black bird with a small yellow patch around its shoulders. They were common in the early twentieth century, but now are on the federal endangered species list and can only be found in parts of southwest Puerto Rico, Mona, and Monito Islands. Since the arrival of the Shiny Cowbird from South America in the mid-twentieth century, almost all of the Yellow-shouldered Blackbird nests were parasitized by this species. The Yellow-shouldered Blackbird's estimated population on the main island of Puerto Rico dropped to only 200-300 birds in the 1970s, but has since climbed back to over 1,000. A fluctuating population of 400-900 survive on Mona and Monito Islands, where cowbirds do not live.

Day 107: Antillean Euphonia

The Antillean Euphonia is a type of finch that can be found in the Caribbean. This is one bird we really wanted to see because of its gorgeous plumage. Males have a bright yellow rump and underparts, an orange forehead, a bright blue crown, and a blue-black back, tail, wings, and cheeks. After a lot of searching, we finally saw one bird briefly in the mountains of southwest Puerto Rico.

The Antillean Euphonia was marketed as a popular cage bird in Puerto Rico because of its beautiful plumage and song.

Day 106: White-winged Dove

The White-winged Dove is another bird that we saw in Puerto Rico. This species can be found in the southwestern U.S., Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. In recent years, it has expanded throughout Texas and into Louisiana.When the bird is sitting or in flight, you can see its bright white wing patch.

Stevie Nicks, a native of Arizona, where the White-winged Dove is most common in the U.S., mentions the bird in her 1981 hit song "Edge of Seventeen."

Day 105: Black-faced Grassquit

The Black-faced Grassquit is a small tanager that breeds in the Caribbean. Males are olive green above, paler grey-olive below, and have a black head and breast. Females have dull olive-grey upperparts and paler grey underparts becoming whiter on the belly.

The Black-faced Grassquit feeds mainly on seeds, especially of grasses and weeds. It is often found in small groups, but is solitary at evening roosts.

Day 104: Antillean Mango

The Antillean Mango is another hummingbird that we saw during our trip to Puerto Rico. It can be found on several islands throughout the Caribbean.