Another Arizona Bird

I had it all planned, I was going to post about another special raptor I saw in Arizona and thought for sure I had great photos of it, but I don’t! I’m so bummed!

But don’t be sad, I have a great little birdie that we saw. We were in Boyce Thompson Arboretum hiking along the high trail seeing wonderful views such as this photo taken by my Mom:

And seeing roots slowly breaking boulders apart:

When my Mom’s cell phone rang. It was my older brother, so I sat on a rock and observed everything around me. All of a sudden Mom pointed and I saw a bird on the rock face. I kept watching it and it came closer and I saw the white on its wings. Not a bird I recognize!

Then it showed me it’s pretty underside – I love its fuzzy hiney:

And finally it’s front:

So even though my photos aren’t that great, I could id it as a Painted Redstart or “Painted Whitestart” (Myioborus pictus), in the Wood Warbler family. It’s habitat is Pine-Oak woodlands, of which Boyce Thompson Arboretum has many species. It’s range is central and southeast Arizona from March to September. And despite its name, it isn’t related to the American Redstart.

Definitely a lifer for me! Yay for my brother calling so I could stop and watch this bird for a few minutes.

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