Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum), Quigley Wildlife Management Area, Yuma County

This Palm Warbler was photographed by John Yerger on 21 November 2009. 

Casual transient and winter visitor to the state.  Birds of the Lower Colorado River Valley, the closest regional reference, lists only 4 records of Palm Warbler along the River through 1991. 

In the field, the bird first caught the observer's eye with its distinctive, emphatic, and constant tail-pumping behavior. The bird showed fairly bright yellow in the undertail coverts. A strong pale supercilium, dark eyestripe, and streaking in the breast are good supporting field marks. Bird was a dull gray-brown overall. Unfortunately, the yellow undertail coverts are only poorly visible in one of the photos. Fortunately, no other North American warbler shows this exact combination of field marks.

21 November 2009, photo by John Yerger

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