Fast becoming one of my all time “Go To” spots, Florida Canyon, just a few miles north of Madera Canyon has yielded yet another great bird. Just last Saturday, I was up in the canyon, hoping to see the Yellow-billed Cuckoo that has been reported. I was shut out on the cuckoo, but discovered a group of Bushtits, which made them a first time for Florida Canyon for me. As you might know, Bushtits could possibly hold the record for all time “Most Hyperactive Bird” as they just never sit still. Just the thought of trying to get an accurate count for my eBird report was daunting let alone trying to get a decent photograph. Then, I spotted this one bird in the group of 12-14 (OK, 12 to 14 plus or minus) Bushtits, an anomaly. This bird was a Bushtit, but it turned out to be the Black-eared form. A form of Bushtit, not an actual subspecies, which I understand is rarely ever seen north of the Mexico border, and even then usually in Texas. Since it is not a subspecies, it is almost impossible to track other reports, but since posting the photo on the Arizona Birders Facebook Page there has been one more birder, who reported a similar bird April of 2014.
Here is another shot of this very cool bird.
And for the sake of comparison, here is the normal, run of the mill Bushtit.
They’re all black-eared down here. I just did a species search on eBird for Bushtit (melanotis group), and sure enough, they seem to go up to the border and no further. So congratulations on the unusual find!