A Gentle Feast
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Fidget, the Yellow-rumped Warbler
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Sprite, the Northern Parula
As quickly as the Warblers arrived, they left. In Burgess’ classic “The Burgess Bird Book for Children,” Peter finds a Warbler that stays in the Green Forest, the Northern Parula. He notices Sprite by finding his nest which looks like a bunch of moss hanging from a tree. Cornell Lab explains that Northern Parulas actually…
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Chut-Chut, the Yellow-breasted Chat
Thornton W. Burgess writes about Chut-Chut being a little different from the other Warblers. He mentions the Yellow-breasted Chat’s difference in size, being a little larger than other Warblers, and even his cautious behavior. This is a really interesting case for those who love Natural History because at the time that “The Burgess Bird Book…
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Mummer, the Common Yellowthroat
Talk about making a statement, the Common Yellowthroat is easy to identify by his black face mask. The females do not have the black masks, but otherwise look very similar with yellow throats and a little more brown along their backs. The Common Yellowthroat is another Warbler who is often prey to Brown-headed Cowbirds’ brood…
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Creeper, the Black and White Warbler
The Black and White Warbler could easily be misidentified as a Brown Creeper because even as Peter Rabbit notices, they act similarly. Listen in on Creeper’s tactic for his very un-Warbler, Nuthatch-like behavior: “I’m going to let you into a little secret, Peter. The rest of them (Warblers) get their living from the leaves and…
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Sunshine, the Yellow Warbler
I would love to meet someone named Sunshine, wouldn’t you? Peter Rabbit meets Sunshine in Ch. 24 of Thornton W. Burgess’ classic, “The Burgess Bird Book for Children.” Sunshine is a Yellow Warbler and perfectly named for his bright yellow feathers, although he isn’t entirely yellow but also has reddish brown streaks on his breast…
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Zee Zee, the American Redstart
We are getting into some migrating birds at just the right time of year, right before the Spring migration! Here we have the American Redstart, the first of our many Warblers. I love what Burgess shares about Warblers wrote through the eyes of Peter the Rabbit: If there is one family of feathered friends which…
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Chuck-will’s-widow
Chapter 23 of Burgess’ classic “The Burgess Bird Book for Children” rounds out with one more bird: Chuck-will’s-widow. It’s funny to me that I had never heard of any of the three birds before and the chapter finishes with the perfect retort from Jenny Wren: “That’s what comes of never having traveled,” retorted Jenny Wren.…
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Whip poor Will, the Whip-Poor-Will
Have you ever met a Whip-poor-will? Introduced to Peter Rabbit as one of Boomer the Common Nighthawk’s cousins, “Whip-poor-will has just the same kind of big mouth and he is dressed very much like Boomer, save that there are no white patches on his wings.” (Thornton W. Burgess, The Burgess Bird Book for Children, Living…
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Boomer, the Common Nighthawk