American Redstart
Setophaga ruticilla
"Male glossy black with bright
orange patches on sides, wings, and tail; belly and under tail
coverts white." (Jon L. Dunn & Jonathan Alderfer. Field
Guide to the Birds of North America, p. 444)
This does not describe the bird
pictured here, but Dunn & Alderfer continue:
"Female is gray-olive, white
below with yellowish patches. Immature male resembles female,
by first spring, lores are usually black, breast
has some black spotting; adult male plumage is acquired by
second fall."
That is the bird pictured above.
"Common in deciduous forests
with understory of small trees, particularly in wet areas. A
small longtailed warbler ... Tail
pattern unique." (David Allen Sibley. The Sibley
Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, p. 345)
"Rare to uncommon and very
local summer resident in the forested areas of east Texas southwest
to Fort Bend County. American Redstart is an uncommon to locally
common migrant in the eastern half of the state ... Typical migration
periods are from mid-April to early June and from mid-August
to mid-October."
(Mark W. Lockwood & Brush Freeman. The TOS Handbook of
Texas Birds, p. 179)
I could not have identified this
bird without the input from members of the TX-ORNITHOLOGY listserve.
Six of the eight responders agreed that it is a first-year American
Redstart. One responder offered this:
"That's an American Redstart...looks
like a second-year male (which are quite female-like) with what
appears to be a dusky face and dusky breast belt. He was born
last summer. The males in that species take 2 years to acquire
the black and orange plumage. They exhibit what's known as Delayed
Plumage Maturation (DPM), which means they don't acquire adult
plumage towards the end of their first year like so many passerines.
There are over 2 dozen species of passerines in North America
that exhibit DPM like Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Painted
Bunting, and your American Redstart."
Thank you all.
Photo taken with a Nikon D300 using
a Nikon 400mm f/5.6 manual focus lens.
May 18, 2013.