Yellow-rumped Warbler Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This series is dedicated to Vermont's nesting wood warblers, a
family of small North American songbirds, many of whom sport bright
colors and sing songs that can be learned with patience and
practice. They return from their wintering grounds just as the
leaves—and insects—begin to come out.
Yellow-rumped Warblers are usually the first to reappear in the
spring. This is because they have the shortest commute from their
wintering grounds, which, uniquely among our warblers, are in the
United States. They winter as far north as southern New England.
After an initial burst of abundance during migration, they settle
down to nest in coniferous and mixed forests. We don’t see
them in our yards as we did in the first flush of spring, but they
are about in the woods, raising more Yellow-rumped Warblers.
They were called Myrtle Warblers before they were
“lumped” with a western species, Audubon’s
Warbler, with which they interbreed. Lumping was once very
fashionable, but the pendulum has swung back to
“splitting,” the separation of one species into two or
more. Perhaps Myrtle will fly again. Splitting sometimes happens
after lumping. It happened with Baltimore Orioles, which were
lumped with Bullock’s Oriole (another western species) to
make the new species Northern Oriole, and then split again into the
two original species. I’m still hoping that happens for the
inelegantly named Yellow-rumped Warbler. I’d rather have a
Myrtle and an Audubon’s than two
Yellow-rumpeds…it’s a matter of
mellifluence…and counting too, of course. Birders are
compulsive counters, too…just like cachers.
Abundance and habitat data are from Birdwatching in Vermont
by Ted Murin and Bryan Pfeiffer.
Co-FTF honors to RSAKVT and kachingkt.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)