Verdin
by Elizabeth Winter
Title
Verdin
Artist
Elizabeth Winter
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Verdin: Very small songbird with gray upperparts and pale gray underparts. Face and throat are dull yellow. Wings are gray with red-brown shoulder patches. Black bill, legs and feet. It builds complex sphere-shaped nests using as many as two thousands small twigs.
At 4.5 inches in length, it rivals the Bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America.
Nests built in summer open toward prevailing winds, perhaps to aid in cooling.
The roosting nests help it stay warm in winter. Winter roosting nests have thicker insulation, and may reduce energy requirements for thermoregulation by as much as 50 percent.
The Verdin builds nests for both breeding and roosting; roosting nests are much smaller. The outer stick shell is constructed mostly by the male, while the female does most of the lining.
Uploaded
December 7th, 2013
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Viewed 786 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/25/2024 at 4:12 AM
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Comments (24)
Deb Halloran
Hi Elizabeth, What a great capture..these little guys are so quick. I love the setting with the beautiful flowers..simply gorgeous. Nicely done. v/f
Darlene Kwiatkowski
You caught him at the perfect spot to frame him so beautifully in the flowers ~ Love your treatment too! :) fv