A year and a half ago, I reported on a Mystery Bird on our Hummingbird feeder. Turned out to be the first and only Baltimore Oriole I have ever seen in Southeast Texas. He was here for less than a week, and I haven’t seen him since.
This year we have a new bird sucking up the Hummers’ sugar water. I’ve seen him a couple mornings, but haven’t been able to get a picture. He feeds just after sunrise while the feeder is still in partial shade. His chest is a brilliant yellow and he is about the size of a canary. His back is a light greenish tan.
So far, I have not been able to positively identify this year’s visitor, but an on-line search reveals that the most likely culprit is
The Prothonotary Warbler.
This Warbler is native to Southeast Texas, but more common east of here along the Sabine River.
Prothonotary, by the way, is an English word that has been around since the 1400s, and means chief clerk of the court. How a bird got stuck with that name is a mystery, but one source says that during the Inquisition, clerks in the Roman Catholic Church wore bright yellow robes.
The bird likes wooded swamps and other bottomland forests, and is one of only two Warbler species that build their nest in holes in trees. Their primary diet is bugs, but All About Birds says that they will supplement their diet with nectar.
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