Target folder // VERDIN
Verdin
Auriparus flaviceps · Remizidae (penduline tits)
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Listen first: the sharp, repeated call gives it away. Then look for a small gray bird with a yellow face working through the thorny scrub.
ID Features
- Tiny, about 4.5 inches long, one of the smallest songbirds in North America.
- Gray overall. Adults have a bright yellow head and a rufous shoulder patch, which is often hard to see.
- Short, sharply pointed bill.
- Juveniles are plain light gray, without the yellow head or rufous shoulder.
- Forages constantly through desert shrubs and small trees, often heard before it's seen.
Signals
- callA loud, rapid "tschep" repeated in a staccato series, surprisingly loud for such a small bird. Listen (xeno-canto XC1151109)
More recordings: xeno-canto · Macaulay Library
Where and When
- Clark County, NV
- Year-round residentDesert scrub and thorny thickets with few trees, including mesquite; sometimes visits hummingbird feeders.Source: Clark County Wetlands Park bird list (Clark County Parks and Recreation, rev. March 2019): resident, common, nests here. Status from one park's list, not survey data. For week-by-week detail, see eBird's Clark County bar chart.