The Verdin, A Common Desert Bird

There are many well-known birds in the desert Southwest, with the roadrunner possibly the most famous. In Arizona, the cactus wren, with its playful personality, might be a close second. The ubiquitous flocks of noisy Gambel's quails are on many people's lists of favorites. But the most common bird, the verdin, has never been heard of in many circles.

The verdin is a tiny bird, smaller than most sparrows, populating the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. What it lacks in size, it compensates for in its sharp and frequent peeps that can be heard from most palo verde and mesquite trees as it continuously forages for insects. Since it seems to be always moving, it's sometimes difficult to focus on him. And when you do, he's usually just a flash of gray in a dense canopy of branches. But in the right light, and with the aid of a camera's fast shutter speed, you'll notice his lemon yellow head, proving he's just as conspicuous as the showiest songbird.

This smallest of the North American passerines is also in a unique taxonomic family, the penduline-tits, that it shares with only a few Old World species not found in the Americas. So in a way this common desert dweller is in uncommon company with his more popular feathered cousins. And whether on a dusty desert trail or in your busy Walmart parking lot, that peeping in the tree above is almost certainly a verdin. Next time you hear it, pause and look up, and meet a native bird you didn't know.