Red warbler near Tepoztlán, Mexico (photo from Wikimedia)

5 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 6, the highlands around Xalapa and Cofre de Perote

In the lowlands we saw many familiar northern-breeding birds within the migration corridor, but now we’re in montane pine-oak and fir forests at 4,000 to 11,500 feet (1200m to 3500m), both pictured below.

Pine-oak forest in southern Sierra, Oaxaca, Mexico (photo by Mario E. Fuente Cid via Wikimedia)

Fir forest at Cofre de Perote (photo from Wikimedia)

At this altitude many of the birds are new to me including the red warbler (Cardellina rubra) at top. Birds of the World describes him:

A standout in an already distinctive family, Red Warbler is easily identified by its strikingly red plumage and silver or dark gray auricular patch. Endemic to three disjunct mountain ranges in Mexico, this montane specialist inhabits the edges of pine-oak forests from 2900-3500 m (9,500-11,500 ft) during the breeding season, which stretches from February to August; however, it descends mountain slopes in the winter to around 1800 m (6,000 ft), where it often associates with mixed species flocks.

The red warbler probably descends the mountains at this time of year because it feeds on insects, including Neuroptera, which may not be as abundant in the mountains in winter. This Neuroptera, for example, occurs in Veracruz, Mexico: a green lacewing. The bird is beautiful and so is its food.

Green lacewing (photo from Wikimedia)

Here are ten more potential Life Birds above 5,000 feet. All of these are endemic to Mexico.

Birds in order of appearance with paraphrased information from Birds of the World:

1. Bearded wood partridge (Dendrortyx barbatus): Listed as Vulnerable, this elusive bird forages in pairs or small groups and flies at the slightest sign of alarm. (How will our tour sneak up on it?)
2. Strickland’s woodpecker (Leuconotopicus stricklandi): Strickland’s is brown and white instead of familiar black and white of the woodpeckers back home.
3. Transvolcanic Jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina): This jay is a split from the Mexican jay that’s endemic to the trans-Mexican volcanic belt that spans Mexico’s “waistline.”
4. Gray-barred wren (Campylorhynchus megalopterus): usually encountered in small bands of up to a dozen individuals which move through upper levels of vegetation.
5. Ocellated thrasher (Toxostoma ocellatum): although it forages mainly on the ground, it is most usually found singing from an exposed perch. Very difficult to approach closely.
6. Russet Nightingale-thrush (Catharus occidentalis): This species is not as difficult to observe as some Catharus thrushes. It forages on the ground and sometimes visits open areas, especially at dusk and dawn.
7. Striped sparrow (Oriturus superciliosus): Forages in small groups, often with one or more individuals perched atop a small tree or bush acting as a sentinel while the rest of the flock forages among bunchgrasses. [I think it looks like a heavy-bodied chipping sparrow that has a black eye.]
8. Collared towhee (Pipilo ocai): Amazingly there is not much information on this bird.
9. Rufous-capped brushfinch (Atlapetes pileatus): Favors dense brushy areas and is often rather skulking, but also curious. Investigates scolding groups of other birds. Usually in pairs, sometimes in small groups, foraging in weedy vegetation. (This explains why photos are hard to find and very poor light.)
10. Hooded yellowthroat (Geothlypis nelsoni): It resembles and behaves like a common yellowthroat except “unlike most yellowthroats, not found in marshes.” Can be difficult to distinguish from common yellowthroat. Uh oh.

I’m hoping to see the beautiful golden-browed warbler as well. It is nearly endemic.

The very attractively plumaged golden-browed warbler (Basileuterus belli) is almost endemic to western and southern Mexico, although its range reaches as far south as Honduras and El Salvador.

Golden-browed warbler (photo from Wikimedia)