Hi, Many hooded warblers are sleek little birds, looking much like this <http://www.greglasley.net/hoodedwarbler.html>.
A couple days ago, I was watching the local male signing, and he had a distinct hump on his back, like this <http://www.lilibirds.com/gallery2/v/warblers/hooded+warbler_001/hooded+warbler+2.jpg.ht> only even a bit more pronounced. It was a warm day, before the weather turned, so there was no thermal reason for him to be fluffing out his back feathers, and it seemed no different in size during or between bursts of song. Photos on the internet show some other males with similar bumps or humps, and some without. So does anyone know what's with the hump? Is this a fat deposit? (This male has been back on territory since May 5th, but I don't know how long it would take him to replenish fat reserves, or if there would be a concentration of fat on his back.) Alicia -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
