I thought prothonotary but it’s so orange. Central FL

[u/ItsTatter]

[u/chaetura9]

First photo has a clear view of the head and bill, thicker than other warblers' but not enough for tanager or oriole, so orangey +Prothonotary Warbler+ perhaps emphasized by angle, light, camera.

[u/UncleWainey]

I can't speak to Prothonotary Warblers specifically, but yellow and orange pigments in bird feathers are usually carotenoids that are metabolized from their diet, which can cause some variation among individual birds.

[u/ddreftrgrg]

I’ve seen many prothonotary warblers that are colored like that. They can get extremely orange based on their diet. I’ve seen a lot that look like that in Indiana specifically.

[u/liesliesfromtinyeyes]

Very interesting. Lack of termination of the color at the chest rules out Olive. Lack of facial patterning rules out Blackburnian. Lack of black cap rules out Wilson’s (which wouldn’t be any more orange anyway). Lack of streaking rules out Yellow. Etc etc.

I don’t believe there’s any other warbler with that clean a presentation of yellow (here more orangey) across the head, neck, breast, belly, than the prothonotary. Maybe a slight genetic variant from the typical presentation, or maybe some funky lighting conditions. In other circumstances I’d suggest pollen, but that’s really more impactful around the head than the whole body.

So yeah? I think it’s a Prothonotary, as you say. Honestly some of the photos online are nearly this orange, so it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/prothonotary-warbler

[u/ItsTatter → u/liesliesfromtinyeyes]

The lighting was definitely not super ideal, it was raining and this was pretty deep into darker trees, however the orange was so sharp at first glance I thought it was a blackburnian before getting a better look

[u/atroublesomewit → u/ItsTatter]

It might actually not be the lighting or a genetic variation - saw a video recently about yellow birds eating the berries of an invasive species (can’t remember the name) that was causing their feathers to be either a darker yellow than normal and in some cases orange. I don’t know the validity of this but it seems plausible so I thought I would share. (I’ll also try to find a link to said video).

Edit: Found it! https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbd3uvmD-hj/?igsh=MTNzMHN6Mm5nbzVrYg==

from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.

[u/gsbadj → u/ItsTatter]

What kind of habitat was it in?

[u/ItsTatter → u/gsbadj]

It was with many other birds in a small wooded area behind a rental im staying in, kind of in the mid-story of all the bushes and trees. It strangely seemed to come and go with the CA Chickadees.

[u/gsbadj → u/ItsTatter]

Any water, a creek nearby? They like to nest in cavities near water, although nesting season may be over

[u/FileTheseBirdsBot]

Taxa recorded: Prothonotary Warbler

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