'Name-Tag' Birds

  

 Isn't it fantastic when you need not consult your field manual to reference a bird you've identified a number of times already? There are some birds who announce themselves by their call or by plumage details; such is the Yellow-rumped Warbler who gives itself away with a flash of bright yellow from its rump as it flits away with a decisive, or perhaps, it is a bothered, 'chit.' They go round in loose flocks, so you are likely to hear chit, chit, chit from various spots overhead as you stroll through your neighborhood on alert for visiting birds. Sibley's ear hears 'chwit,' but I am just starting to tune my ear to the dialectical distinctions of common urban birds. It's best to ask your own ears what sounds they hear as soon as you sight the bird. You can file it in your brain's audio input as you learn and store away the bird's name. Later, just by listening to songs and calls you may be able to name the birds all around you. It can also be fun to dispute your bird guide on pronunciation since, really, isn't it your own trusted ears against Sibley's or Peterson's or whoever may be your preferred Last Word on the Bird? When the Yellow-rumped Warblers come through in fall to rustle the Chinese Pistache trees, gleaning the sticky pinkish drupes for insects, their pretty swatches of yellow offer up a satisfying memory aid. I thrill with recognition, "I know that bird!" No--not a sparrow or a bushtit: too much yellow with sharper lines than a sparrow, a little long in the tail and wing-streaked for a bushtit. As soon as you spot its yellow rump flag, you can be certain it's a Yellow-rumped Warbler. It's as sure a marker as the cotton ball you espy on the hindquarters of the cottontail as she hops under a shrub. I like to think of these warblers as birds that 'ring a bell.'