Verdin
The Verdin, rarely seen drinking, is thought to obtain moisture from insects, seeds and berries. It is gray with a yellow head and throat, a chestnut patch at the bend of its wing and white underparts. The juveniles lack both the yellow and chestnut coloration of adults and are distinguishable from the Bushtit by their shorter tail. The call of the Verdin is a sharp seep! or tsilip! frequently repeated. Its infrequent song is a 3-note kleep-er-zee! with the final note highest in pitch.

The Verdin eats mostly insects, searching among terminal twigs, buds and under leaves for insects, their eggs and larvae. It also eats spiders; pulp from the seed pods of paloverde, mesquite and ironwood; and fruits of wolf berry and date palm. The Verdin builds a nest that is an oval or ball-shaped mass, up to 8 inches in diameter, of thorny twigs anchored to a limb of almost any tree or shrub species found within its range. It also builds winter roosting nests.

The Verdin is a year-round resident from California, Utah and south-central Texas southward to northern Mexico. It prefers low desert, containing brush and taller shrubs.
Verdin Range Map

Visit Shaw Creek Bird Supply and see our selection of Bird Houses, Bird Feeders, Hummingbird Feeders & Heated Bird Baths .

Copyright © 2004 Shaw Creek Bird Supply