Spotted on a bird-of-paradise blossom, this sparrow-sized bird is a year-round resident of Southern California. Cornell University’s All About Birds website indicates that Yellow-rumped Warblers eat insects and berries. Their stout beaks probe for insects and pick berries from stems. In fact, the species’ appetite for berries “when no insects are available enables them to winter farther north than those warblers that are strictly dependent on insects” (K. L. Garrett and J. B. Dunning Jr, authors of the Wood Warblers section of The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, pp. 499-500 of 1st edition). Their digestive systems are unique among warblers in their ability to eat both insects and berries.
What part of their diet supports the brilliant lemon-yellow feathers? Have you seen these birds on your walks or in your garden?
Mashabu 