Bird of the Week: New World Warblers
They're small, they're cute, they sing. What's not to love???
This week’s Bird of the Week is inspired by this bird that I saw in Central Park the other day. It was both a) a nice bird and b) a bird that didn’t run away when I moved in to get a picture. Success!
A quick consultation with my Merlin Bird ID app told me that this was an ovenbird. Ovenbirds are just cute little birds! They eat bugs and sing and make little nests on the ground and do their thing. Not every bird can feast on bone marrow or have a stomach like a cow, you know? Some birds are here to look adorable and chirp and perpetuate the species.
So today, I am highlighting the family of birds that the ovenbird belongs to: the New World warblers. These are small, colorful songbirds that mostly live in trees up and down the Western Hemisphere, feasting on insects and bringing joy wherever they go (except, I suppose, to the insects). There are far too many warblers to show off here (and that’s before you get to the Old World warblers!) so I have restricted myself to 10. I think you’ll agree that they all rule!!!! Take it away, warblers!
Red-faced warbler
Prairie warbler
Palm warbler
Black-throated gray warbler
Pink-headed warbler
Collared whitestart
Golden-fronted whitestart
Elfin woods warbler
Swainson’s warbler
Bay-breasted warbler
A reminder: you can check out our complete Bird of the Week list here, and get in touch with your bird suggestions at hello@discourseblog.com.
An Ovenbird hangs out in the hostas in my backyard every May and October for the last 3 years (I'm choosing to believe it is the same one). I ask him where he goes the rest of the year but he won't say.