Another Winter Visitor to the Park

Today we spotted another winter migrant in the park, the BROWN THRASHER (Toxostoma rufum). A friend told me she had seen him earlier in the day, and I found him thrashing with his beak, looking for small invertebrates and seeds, through some dead leaves under bushes.


Brown Thrashers are related to Mockingbirds and Cat Birds, and can mimic up to 3000 calls of other animals.

Winter Migrants in the Park (UPDATE)

We just spotted a beautiful male SUMMER TANAGER (Piranga rubra) hunting bees next to the house yesterday. Usually we get a female in the park this time of year, but almost never a male. I hope he stays for awhile ( in lieu of flying down to Central America).

VOCAB ALERT!!!

Sexual Dimorphism: when males and females have a different appearance


Male Summer Tanager


Adult males are obviously red




Male in it's 1st Spring


Females are usually yellow




Okay, so there is a reddish color phase that
females sometimes exhibit, but they are never
as bright red as the males.

SOUTH FOR THE WINTER

When people say that birds "go South for the winter", Texas is one of those Southern destinations for birds. At the park, some of those winter migrants (birds that migrate here to spend the winter) have arrived. Here is a brief photo gallery of some of the current birds of winter.

YELLOW RUMPED WARBLER






ORANGE CROWNED WARBLER






PINE WARBLER






RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD








YELLOW BREASTED SAPSUCKER


male