What’s That Bird?: Verdin

Summary:A three-minute podcast from the hosts of The Feathered Desert about individual bird species found in the desert Southwest.

 

For our hearing impaired listeners, a transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.

 

Show Notes:Song provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, recorded by Stephen Chase

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/verdin/overview

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/verdin

Our New email address, please reach out with comments, questions, or suggestions: thefeathereddesert@gmail.com

 

Transcript

Host voice - Welcome to the Feathered Desert’s What’s That Bird? A three-minute glimpse into the birds that we share this amazing desert landscape with.

 

Kiersten - The verdin is a very small songbird at only 3.5 to 4.5 inches and is found strictly in the southwest, ranging through western Texas, southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, the extreme southern tip of Nevada, southern California, and northern Mexico. Adults have distinctive coloring with a yellow face, head, and throat, gray body, red shoulder patches, a small, sharply pointed black beak and black legs. Juveniles will be all gray. The verdin ties with the bushtit as the smallest passerine in NA.

 

            They eat all stages of small insects including spiders. They are considered gleaners, which means they snatch insects off of leaf surfaces. Occasionally, they can be seen hanging upside down from a branch as they search the underside of leaves for a suitable meal. They also eat fruit and are especially partial to berries. They are often mistaken for hummingbirds as they do visit hummingbird feeders. As soon as they hang upside down from the feeder’s perch you know it’s a verdin. Suprisingly, they are not after the liquid nectar, most often they are searching for the sugar water that crystalizes on the ports of the feeder. When you hear this call (Verdin call plays) you know a Verdin is nearby.

 

Verdin choose dense bushes, shrubs, and thickets to nest and roost. In the desert, one of their favorite trees is the Palo Verde. During the breeding season, a mated pair will make an enclosed nest of sticks, leaves, and grass held together with spider webs. The male focuses on the outside construction while the female lines the nest with soft grass, feathers, and plant down. This enclosed nest will open toward the prevailing winds to help keep it cool in the heat of summer. During winter, verdin will build another nest but roost alone. These roosting nests will also be enclosed but are insulated with thicker materials to help them stay warm during cold winter nights. The winter roosting nests reduce the energy required to stay warm by 50%. Verdin may build more than two nests a year. One pair of verdin in Arizona was observed building 11 nests in one year.

 

Verdin are non-migratory birds that are fairly common in the Sonoran desert. They have adapted well to urbanization but, recently, their numbers have dropped drastically due to habitat loss. Planting native trees and shrubs in your yard can offer a much-needed oasis for these small songbirds.

 

Bird song provided by Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology recorded by Stephen Chase.