The mourning warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Mourning warblers are native to eastern and central North America as well as some countries in Central America.Gough, G.A., Sauer, J.R. ''Patuxent Bird Glossary.'' 1997. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/Glossary/glossary.html They are neotropical migrants and tend to be found in dense second growth forests. They are under the Wood-warbler category, which consists of arboreal.. more
Similar species: Perching Birds
By Thibaud Aronson
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Uploaded May 27, 2019. Captured May 26, 2019 18:52 in 4300 Shaw Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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As the genus name, Geothlypis, indicates, they're part of a group of warblers that generally walk on the ground instead of flitting up in trees. The yellowthroats are the most conspicuous members of that genus, while the others tend to stick to dense undergrowth.
I'd seen several last winter in Colombia, but always at a distance and in poor light. I finally found my first one for the US a few days ago, but it was a similar kind of encounter.
However, there is an area of the botanical garden that mimics an old growth woodland, with lots of bushes under the trees. But the key is that they are carefully tended by the team of gardeners and there is just enough space between each plant to make it easier to look for skulking birds. So I tried my luck yesterday evening, but the area was dead quiet (songbird migration is coming to an end, after all). I was about to give up when I almost tripped on this fellow who was happily foraging by the path. He only flew a couple meters and I was able to follow it for the next several minutes from 5 meters away! It allowed me to observe its hunting technique as he walked on the ground, hop up to pluck caterpillars from the undersides of leaves, and then reduce them to a pulp before gobbling them up.
I don't give a crap about memorial day, so that was the highlight of my weekend! Posted 6 years ago, modified 6 years ago
Anyway, this is not the Thibaud I know. Of course you will see all antpittas in your life :) Posted 6 years ago