The Common Yellowthroat, a creative singer

 

A Common Yellowthroat atop his singing perch, the unfurling leaves of Stiff Goldenrod (Solidago rigida). The masked bandidos sing a distinctive wichity-wichity-wichity song. Better yet is their aria, the incredible flight song. It's as if the little warbler, with an irrepressible need to flaunt its song, can no longer remain earthbound and hidden in the thickets. In a fit of irrational exuberance, it launches skyward, all the while singing its song but now embellished with accent notes and complex flourishes. At its apogee, the yellowthroat drops directly back to earth, legs dangling and wings fluttering, singing all the while. Huffman Prairie, Greene County, Ohio, yesterday.