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This Morning Outside

by Diane Porter

October 5, 2009
In the woods near Birdwatching Dot Com
Fairfield, Iowa

Most of the migrating warblers have already passed through Iowa on their way south for the winter. Now it's the time of the yellow-rumped warblers, and suddenly they're the most abundant bird in the woods.

The bird on the left is what most of the yellow-rumps look like now, in their winter plumage. It could be a female, or it could be a male that hatched this year. The picture on the right was taken in spring, of a male in full breeding plumage.

Notice the pattern of the under tail in the spring male. Then look at the fall bird and see the same pattern showing on one side of the tail. Both sides should look the same, but the all-dark side may be in shadow or concealed because of the way the feathers are folded.