Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Empty Branch - Bird Needed!

I finally got around on the last day of June to starting The Little Stitcher's June bird, a European Goldfinch.  Now I need to stitch the bird!


Now with this series of a dull yellow bird, I'm sticking with Orange-crowned Warbler.

The overall color...

The small pointed bill...

...and most tellingly, the broken white eye-ring.

I'm going to try a small feeder of dried mealworms at the edge of hedgerow.

The warblers are all insectivores, maybe they'll investigate the feeder. 

It's worth a try.

An American Robin - much easier to ID!

A male Acorn Woodpecker.

Here's my other interesting bird.  It's a White-breasted Nuthatch.
Notice how very pale it is though?

It is not an albino as it does have some color.  It is a leucistic bird. Leucism is an abnormal plumage condition caused by a genetic mutation that prevents pigment, particularly melanin, from being properly deposited on a bird’s feathers. I'll certainly know if I ever see this bird again!

2 comments:

Robin in Virginia said...

Good start on your bird piece, Beth. What an interesting bird and condition you featured in the last photo.

Mary said...

I always learn something from your blog, never heard of leucistic birds before, makes the identification even so much more difficult.