Auriparus flaviceps

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida

Familia: Remizidae
Genus: Auriparus
Species: Auriparus flaviceps
Subspecies: A. f. acaciarum – A. f. flaviceps – A. f. hidalgensis – A. f. lamprocephalus – A. f. ornatus – A. f. sinaloae
Name

Auriparus flaviceps (Sundevall, 1850)
Synonymy

Ægithalus flaviceps (protonym)

References

Öfversigt af Kongliga Vetenskaps-Akademiens Förhandlingar 7: 129, note.
Vernacular names
العربية: وردن
čeština: Moudivláček žlutohlavý
Cymraeg: Titw penfelyn
dansk: Gulhovedet Mejse
Deutsch: Goldköpfchen
English: Verdin
Esperanto: Flavkapa saknestulo
español: Pájaro-moscón Baloncito
فارسی: سرطلایی
suomi: Amerikanpussitiainen
français: Auripare verdin
magyar: Aranycinege
italiano: Auriparo
日本語: アメリカツリスガラ
Nederlands: Geelkopmees
norsk: Meisesmett
polski: Żółtoliczek
português: Chapim-de-face-dourada
русский: Американский ремез
slovenčina: Žltohlávok sýkorčí
svenska: Verdinpungmes
українська: Ремез американський
中文: 黄头金雀

The verdin (Auriparus flaviceps) is a species of penduline tit. It is the only species in the genus Auriparus and the only representative of the old world family Remizidae to be found in North America.[2]

Taxonomy

The verdin was formally described in 1850 by the Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall under the binomial name Aegithalus flaviceps.[3][4] It is now the only species placed in the genus Auriparus that was introduced in 1864 by the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird.[5][6] The genus name combines the Latin aurum, auri meaning "gold" with the genus name Parus that was introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 for the tits. The specific epithet flaviceps combines the Latin flavis meaning "yellow" with -ceps meaning "-capped".[7]

Six subspecies are recognised:[6]

A. f. acaciarum Grinnell, 1931 – southwest USA to north Baja California, central Sonora, central Chihuahua and central Durango (northwest Mexico)
A. f. ornatus (Lawrence, 1851) – south-central USA and northeast Mexico
A. f. flaviceps (Sundevall, 1850) – central Baja California, south Sonora and north Sinaloa (northwest Mexico)
A. f. lamprocephalus Oberholser, 1897 – south Baja California (northwest Mexico)
A. f. sinaloae Phillips, AR, 1986 – northwest Sinaloa (northwest Mexico)
A. f. hidalgensis Phillips, AR, 1986 – north-central Mexico

Description

The verdin is a very small bird. At 4.5 in (11 cm) in length, it rivals the American bushtit as one of the smallest passerines in North America. It is gray overall, and adults have a bright yellow head and rufous shoulder patch (the lesser coverts). Unlike the tits, it has a sharply pointed bill. Juveniles have a light gray body without the rufous shoulder patch and yellow head. The base of the short bill is thick by the head, and draws to a sharp point at the tip.[2]
Vocalizations

Little is known about geographic or individual variation in vocalizations. Verdins produce a variety of calls, loud for their size. The typical call note is a repetitive "tschep" sound repeated in rapid staccato. In Texas, rapid "chip-chip-chip" calls have been observed, all at the same pitch and at the same speed in each call series.”[8] The day of hatching, nestlings can produce short peep notes, faint and high-pitched. Fledglings, during their post-juvenile molt, can make soft warbling notes, similar to more complex signatures of adult calls.[9] The verdin gives rapid "tschep" calls frequently while foraging. Unmated males sound "tseet" calls repeatedly in early spring, which may function to attract females. "Tseet" calls are also given by either sex of a mated pair, by solitary foraging birds, and by older nestlings. This may be used as an identifier call to help keep members of the breeding pair together as they move through brush to forage.[10] "Tweedle" warbling calls may reinforce a breeding pair bond. The verdin also gives a "gee-gee-gee-gee" alarm call in response to predators or when captured.
Distribution and habitat

Two subspecies nest in the United States. The subspecies A. f. acaciarum is resident from southern California, Nevada, and Utah southward into Mexico; it is associated mostly with the Sonoran Desert. The subspecies A. f. ornatus is found from New Mexico and Oklahoma southward into Mexico and is associated with the Chihuahuan Desert and its scrublands. The remaining 4-5 subspecies are resident to Mexico, and aren't known to migrate into the United States.[2] Verdins nest in shrubs and thorny thickets with few trees. Their nests are best described as spherical masses of bulky twigs and branches that are then lined with grasses, feathers, and hair. The entrance to the nest is about 1" in diameter, and is usually at the bottom of the sphere. They feed in shrub-land and scrubby outcrops where insects are hosted and berries and seeds are plentiful.[11]
Behavior and ecology
Breeding

Verdins nest in the spring and tend to form monogamous pairs, but do not stay together year-round. Otherwise, they are usually solitary. Both males and females build nests for roosting and nesting, and both incubate the eggs and tend to young. Clutch sizes vary from 3-6 eggs, which are light green with irregular dark red-brown spots, concentrated at the bottom end of the egg. No formal courtship display is known for the species, but males sing more frequently during breeding and sometimes also build a "display nest" of sorts. This display nest may help to display partner suitability, but this correlation has not been confirmed. Once paired, the male and female claim a territory (as large as 20 acres) and will defend the boundary starting early in the breeding season through fledging. After fledging, the young forage with both parents until winter, and then disperse short distances from their hatching site.[2]
Food and feeding

Verdins are insectivorous, continuously foraging among the desert trees and scrubs. Verdins occasionally try to obtain sugar water from hummingbird feeders. Feeds on many kinds of tiny insects, both adults and larvae, and also consumes hard and soft mast of many trees and shrubs.[11]
Conservation status

Although the verdin is listed as a species of least concern [LC] by the IUCN,[1] The North American Breeding Bird Survey suggests that verdin populations have declined by 1.9% per year between 1968 and 2015. This decline could mean that the species has experienced a cumulative decrease of 60% in that 47-year period.[2] Threats to verdin populations include habitat loss as a result of urbanization, human structure collisions, and predation.
References

BirdLife International (2017). "Auriparus flaviceps". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22711568A118703371. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22711568A118703371.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
"Verdin Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
Sundevall, Carl Jakob (1850). "Foglar från Nordöstra Afrika". Öfversigt af Kongl. Vetenskaps-akademiens forhandlingar (in Swedish). 7 (5): 125–133 [129, note].
Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 12. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 69.
Baird, Spencer F. (1864). Review of American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Vol. 1, North and Middle America. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. p. 85.
Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2022). "Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits". IOC World Bird List Version 12.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 62, 160. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
Oberholser, H. C. (1974). The Bird Life of Texas. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX, USA.
Webster, Marcus D. (2020). "Verdin (Auriparus flaviceps)". In Poole, Alan F; Gill, Frank B (eds.). Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.verdin.01. S2CID 216386862.
Dawson, W. L. (1923) The Birds of California: A Complete, Scientific and Popular Account of the 580 Species and Subspecies of Birds Found in the State. Volume 2. South Moulton, San Diego, CA, USA
"Verdin". 13 November 2014.