Red Warbler Ergaticus ruber
Desierto de los Leones, Mexico City. 26 March 2005 and 24 March 2007

The dazzingly beautiful Red Warbler, a Mexican endemic found in oak-pine woodland between 2000 and 3500m, is common at Desierto de Los Leones (just outside Mexico City) where it’s distinctive “pseet” call is one of the commoner sounds along the trails through the forest above the main access road. Active and restless, birds are often seen racing across gaps in the tree cover and rarely stay in one place for very long: they do respond to pishing though, and the few seconds they stop to work out why a near-breathless and exhausted human is making strange noises in their direction is probably the best chance to get a decent look at them…

Three subspecies occur, differing mainly in the whiteness of the cheek-patch (and intensity of the rose-red plumage): the northern nominate form ruber, which is the one found at Desierto, has white cheeks rather than the silvery-grey of the two southern forms.

 

 

 

 

All photos copyright Charlie Moores