Chirps and Cheeps

While atlasing in the Cherry Creek area last week, I caught sight of a stunning warbler, a Lawrence's Warbler.  This warbler is actually a hybrid from the cross between a Blue-winged Warbler and a Golden-winged Warbler.  Its black mask and black throat make this a striking and gorgeous bird.  I've seen a Lawrence's Warbler only twice before and I've never been lucky enough to get decent photos.  This time, I was blessed with a cooperative bird who just hung around the roadside foraging, oblivious to the dizzying effect he had on me!

In the not-so-distant past, the mendelion laws of genetics gave this particular hybrid a 1 in 4 chance of showing.   The other 3 in 4 chances favor a Brewster's Warbler, a hybrid I ironically have yet to see.  (The Brewster's is a very pretty bird too but the Lawrence's is, by far, my favorite of the two.)

Unfortunately, as the DNA of Golden-winged Warblers are slowly being "watered-down" by their interbreeding with Blue-winged Warblers, mostly due to habitat loss,  I learned that the more uncommon genetic expression, or phenotype, of the Lawrence's Warbler hybrid will become more and more common.  It makes sense when you think about it: without the stronger / dominant genes of the Golden-winged to compete with, the recessive genes will little-by-little have more opportunity to pair up and express the more uncommon phenotype of the Lawrence's Warbler.

As beautiful as the Lawrence's Warbler is, I wish the Golden-winged Warblers would bounce back and establish a strong presence in New York State once again.  They are a beautiful bird that is sadly becoming more and more uncommon - they're being replaced by the hybrids that are beautiful as well - but soon we will lose a full species if things keep going the way they are.