Verdin

{{speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2017 |title=''Auriparus flaviceps'' |volume=2017 |article-number=e.T22711568A118703371 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22711568A118703371.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | image = {{random item|Auriparus flavicepsPCCA20050310-5817B.jpg|Verdin_5029_m.jpg}} | image2 = Auriparus flaviceps.jpg | genus = Auriparus | parent_authority = S.F. Baird, 1864 | species = flaviceps | authority = (Sundevall, 1850) | range_map =Auriparus flaviceps distribution map.png }}

The '''verdin''' ('''''Auriparus flaviceps''''') is a species of penduline tit. It is the only species in the genus '''''Auriparus''''' and the only representative of the Old World family Remizidae to be found in North America.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Verdin/overview|title=Verdin Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en|access-date=2020-02-19}}</ref>

== Taxonomy == The verdin was formally described in 1850 by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall under the binomial name ''Aegithalus flaviceps''.<ref>{{ cite journal | last=Sundevall | first=Carl Jakob | author-link=Carl Jakob Sundevall | date=1850 | title=Foglar från Nordöstra Afrika | language=Swedish | journal=Öfversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps-akademiens forhandlingar | volume=7 | issue=5 | pages=125–133 [129, note] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/60167569 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1986 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=12 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=69 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14482186 }}</ref> It is now the only species placed in the genus ''Auriparus'' that was introduced in 1864 by the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Baird | first=Spencer F. | author-link=Spencer Fullerton Baird | year=1864 | title=Review of American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution | volume=1, North and Middle America | location=Washington | publisher=Smithsonian Institution | page=85 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7283335 }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2022 | title=Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits | work=IOC World Bird List Version 12.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waxwings/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=14 March 2022 }}</ref> The genus name combines the Latin ''aurum'', ''auri'' meaning "gold" with the genus name ''Parus'' that was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the tits. The specific epithet ''flaviceps'' combines the Latin ''flavis'' meaning "yellow" with ''-ceps'' meaning "-capped".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=[https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n62/mode/1up 62], [https://archive.org/stream/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling#page/n160/mode/1up 160]}}</ref>

Six subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/> * ''A. f. acaciarum'' Grinnell, 1931 – southwest USA to north Baja California, central Sonora, central Chihuahua and central Durango (northwest Mexico) * ''A. f. ornatus'' (Lawrence, 1851) – south-central USA and northeast Mexico * ''A. f. flaviceps'' (Sundevall, 1850) – central Baja California, south Sonora and north Sinaloa (northwest Mexico) * ''A. f. lamprocephalus'' Oberholser, 1897 – south Baja California (northwest Mexico) * ''A. f. sinaloae'' Phillips, AR, 1986 – northwest Sinaloa (northwest Mexico) * ''A. f. hidalgensis'' Phillips, AR, 1986 – north-central Mexico

== Description == The verdin is a very small bird. At {{convert|4.5|in|cm|abbr=on}} in length, it rivals the American bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall, and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous shoulder patch (the lesser coverts). Unlike the tits, it has a sharply pointed bill. Juveniles have a light gray body without the rufous shoulder patch and yellow head. The base of the short bill is thick by the head, and draws to a sharp point at the tip.<ref name=":0" />

=== Vocalizations === Little is known about geographic or individual variation in vocalizations. Verdins produce a variety of calls, loud for their size. The typical call note is a repetitive "tschep" sound repeated in rapid staccato. In Texas, rapid "chip-chip-chip" calls have been observed, all at the same pitch and at the same speed in each call series.<ref>Oberholser, H. C. (1974). The Bird Life of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, USA.</ref> The day of hatching, nestlings can produce short peep notes, faint and high-pitched. Fledglings, during their post-juvenile molt, can make soft warbling notes, similar to more complex signatures of adult calls.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/verdin/sounds|doi = 10.2173/bow.verdin.01|chapter = Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps)|title = Birds of the World|year = 2020|last1 = Webster|first1 = Marcus D.|s2cid = 216386862|editor1-first = Alan F|editor1-last = Poole|editor2-first = Frank B|editor2-last = Gill}}</ref> The verdin gives rapid "tschep" calls frequently while foraging. Unmated males sound "tseet" calls repeatedly in early spring, which may function to attract females. "Tseet" calls are also given by either sex of a mated pair, by solitary foraging birds, and by older nestlings. This may be used as an identifier call to help keep members of the breeding pair together as they move through brush to forage.<ref>Dawson, W. L. (1923) The Birds of California: A Complete, Scientific and Popular Account of the 580 Species and Subspecies of Birds Found in the State. Volume 2. South Moulton, San Diego, CA, USA</ref> "Tweedle" warbling calls may reinforce a breeding pair bond. The verdin also gives a "gee-gee-gee-gee" alarm call in response to predators or when captured.

==Distribution and habitat== Two subspecies nest in the United States. The subspecies ''A. f. acaciarum'' is resident from southern California, Nevada, and Utah southward into Mexico; it is associated mostly with the Sonoran Desert. The subspecies ''A. f. ornatus'' is found from New Mexico and Oklahoma southward into Mexico and is associated with the Chihuahuan Desert and its scrublands. The remaining 4-5 subspecies are resident to Mexico, and aren't known to migrate into the United States.<ref name=":0" /> Verdins nest in shrubs and thorny thickets with few trees. Their nests are best described as spherical masses of bulky twigs and branches that are then lined with grasses, feathers, and hair. The entrance to the nest is about 1" in diameter, and is usually at the bottom of the sphere. They feed in shrub-land and scrubby outcrops where insects are hosted and berries and seeds are plentiful.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/verdin|title = Verdin|date = 13 November 2014}}</ref>

== Behavior and ecology == === Breeding === Verdins nest in the spring and tend to form monogamous pairs, but do not stay together year-round. Otherwise, they are usually solitary. Both males and females build nests for roosting and nesting, and both incubate the eggs and tend to young. Clutch sizes vary from 3-6 eggs, which are light green with irregular dark red-brown spots, concentrated at the bottom end of the egg. No formal courtship display is known for the species, but males sing more frequently during breeding and sometimes also build a "display nest" of sorts. This display nest may help to display partner suitability, but this correlation has not been confirmed. Once paired, the male and female claim a territory (as large as 20 acres) and will defend the boundary starting early in the breeding season through fledging. After fledging, the young forage with both parents until winter, and then disperse short distances from their hatching site.<ref name=":0" />

=== Food and feeding === Verdins are insectivorous, continuously foraging among the desert trees and scrubs. Verdins occasionally try to obtain sugar water from hummingbird feeders. They feed on many kinds of tiny insects, both adults and larvae, and also consume hard and soft mast of many trees and shrubs.<ref name=":1" />

== Conservation status== Although the verdin is listed as a species of least concern [LC] by the IUCN,<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> The North American Breeding Bird Survey suggests that verdin populations have declined by 1.9% per year between 1968 and 2015. This decline could mean that the species has experienced a cumulative decrease of 60% in that 47-year period.<ref name=":0" /> Threats to verdin populations include habitat loss as a result of urbanization, human structure collisions, and predation.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=auriflav Verdin profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509113905/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/Search/Display.asp?FlNm=auriflav |date=2009-05-09 }} at State of Utah, Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources * {{InternetBirdCollection|verdin-auriparus-flaviceps|Verdin}} * {{VIREO|Verdin|Verdin}} *{{Xeno-canto-species|Auriparus|flaviceps}} * {{IUCN_Map|22711568/137633266|Auriparus flaviceps}}

Category:Remizidae Category:Native birds of the Southwestern United States Category:Birds of Mexico Category:Endemic birds of Southwestern North America Category:Birds described in 1850