Yellow Warbler – Magee Marsh, Ohio: On my last day at Magee Marsh while shooting birds along the boardwalk I encountered this fine example of a male yellow warbler. Male yellow warblers, as their name implies are yellow, but with elegant red streaks that fall from the top of the breast to its underside. Richard Crossley, author of the Crossley ID Guide, stopped where I was shooting and ask what I was seeing. As I rattled off a number of different species a yellow warbler flew to a perch just above us and began singing its heart out. Richard, looking at the warbler asked, “do you know the Latin name for the yellow warbler?” No, I don’t, was my reply. “It’s Dendroica petechia”, then he told me that petechia is a medical term. Petechia is minute hemorrhaging of vessels just under the skin causing red spots or streaks.
Dendroica petechia, it’s a good Latin name for the yellow warbler.
