Bird of the Week

This week’s Bird of the Week, compliments of the Weminuche Audubon Society and Audubon Rockies, is the Townsend’s solitaire. You’re in the trees and hear a soft beeping sound repeated up to 30 times per minute. Follow the sound to the top of a tree and you may find this wide-eyed songbird of Western mountain forests advertising its presence. This single note is the most commonly heard call of the four that these vocal birds make. The song of the solitaire is a musical extended warbling of clear whistles and trills. Unlike other songbirds which only sing during breeding season, solitaires also sing in fall and winter. Singing peaks occur in two annual cycles, one during April and May and one from September through November. In fall, both male and female solitaires sing to establish and defend a patch of juniper which may contain from two to several hundred trees with berries that are its winter food source. Each bird needs to eat between 40,000 and 80,000 berries to survive the winter, and owners of berry-rich territories have much better winter survival rates. Solitaires will defend their territories against other berry-eaters, including waxwings, bluebirds, evening grosbeaks, Cassin’s finches and red crossbills. Only robins are not intimidated by the solitaire’s chase, threats and fights in defense of its trees. Solitaires are so territorial that they will persistently peck at their own reflections in glass or mirrors. In spring, the male solitaire uses song to establish and defend a breeding territory in forests of pine, fir and spruce up to 11,500 feet in elevation. Here a pair typically nests on the ground along a steep bank sheltered by overhanging roots, ledges or stumps, or in nooks on rocky cliffs. In summer they consume insects and spiders, often sallying out from a perch like a flycatcher to catch insects flying by. As its name suggests, the Townsend’s solitaire is often found alone, perched motionless and upright. Both sexes are evenly and smoothly gray colored. They are slim and have a small head, short bill, long tail and a buff stripe on each wing. A bold white ring encircles each eye. These birds may be plain in appearance, but their songs add color to winter. For information on events, visit www.weminucheaudubon.org and www.facebook.com/weminucheaudubon/.