Myrtle warbler in spring

A weak cold front moved through last night, and it brought a bit of sunshine in the morning, along with a wave of songbirds that chorused anxiously and flitted in the branches of our oaks and maples. Their leaves, mercifully, remain only about half open, so you can still spot warblers, and this is a great joy, since the males are drop-dead gorgeous right now. Birders who are just starting out will call this one by its currently approved name: the Yellow-rumped Warbler. This is certainly descriptive, because if you look at the tail area, there's a definite patch of yellow. The feathering pattern gives the bird its other common name, the Butterbutt—an apt description now and in the winter, when the warbler, the only one that hangs around here during the cold season, also has a yellow tush. But approved or not, I often fall back to a prettier name that I learned years ago, when I was starting out: the Myrtle Warbler, which describes its habitat preference. By whatever name, the bird is a stunner, and to add to the display, it appears to be wearing a ring on its right leg.