Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Verdin

Auriparus flaviceps

(Sundevall, 1850)

Verdin

G5Secure Found in 27 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102704
Element CodeABPAX01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyRemizidae
GenusAuriparus
Other Common Names
Auripare verdin (FR) Baloncillo (ES)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-03-12
Change Date1996-12-02
Edition Date2025-03-12
Edition AuthorsGundy, R. L. (2025)
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
This species is widespread in the southwestern United States and the northern half of México. The population is declining slightly. Development is a localized threat.
Range Extent Comments
This species is resident in the southwestern United States and northern México (Webster 2020). It is found in southern Nevada, southeastern California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, central and western Texas, and much of northern México as far south as the states of Guanjuato and Hidalgo (Webster 2020).
Occurrences Comments
There are many occurrences throughout the range.
Threat Impact Comments
No major rangewide threats are known, although development has caused local declines and extirpations (Webster 2020).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Desert and arid brush, primarily in mesquite and creosotebush (AOU 1983). Nests in a shrub, small tree, or cactus. Usually nests near the end of a branch, 0.5-6 m above ground.

Ecology

Forages in pairs or small family groups. May compete with cactus wren for nest sites. Home range size relatively large for a small bird: ranged from 3.6-12.5 hectares in Arizona, average 9.4 hectares (Taylor 1967).

Reproduction

Clutch size 3-6 (typically 4). Incubation 14 days. Nestlings altricial, leave nest in about 3 weeks but return to nest to roost at night.
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralDesert
Palustrine Habitats
Riparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaSNRYes
New MexicoS4B,S4NYes
UtahS2Yes
ArizonaS3Yes
TexasS4BYes
NevadaS3Yes
OklahomaS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentRestricted - smallUnknownHigh (continuing)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasRestricted - smallUnknownHigh (continuing)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areasRestricted - smallUnknownHigh (continuing)

—

Roadless Areas (27)
Arizona (20)
AreaForestAcres
Arnold MesaPrescott National Forest12,286
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
Cdo WsaCoronado National Forest1,955
ChiricahuaCoronado National Forest76,876
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Hell HoleApache-Sitgreaves National Forests15,512
Lime CreekTonto National Forest42,568
Lower San FranciscoApache-Sitgreaves National Forests59,310
Middle Dragoon RoadlessCoronado National Forest10,543
Middle Romero WSRCoronado National Forest60
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
PinalenoCoronado National Forest130,920
Pine Mountain Wilderness ContiguousTonto National Forest6,518
SunsetApache-Sitgreaves National Forests28,948
TumacacoriCoronado National Forest44,594
Upper Romero WsrCoronado National Forest150
WhetstoneCoronado National Forest20,728
California (1)
AreaForestAcres
Pyramid Peak BSan Bernardino National Forest7,194
New Mexico (3)
AreaForestAcres
Lower San FranciscoGila National Forest26,460
Ortega PeakLincoln National Forest11,545
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
Utah (2)
AreaForestAcres
CottonwoodDixie National Forest6,754
Pine Valley MountainsDixie National Forest57,673
References (20)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  5. Bureau of Land Management. Life History Summaries.
  6. Fink, D., T. Auer, A. Johnston, M. Strimas-Mackey, S. Ligocki, O. Robinson, W. Hochachka, L. Jaromczyk, C. Crowley, K. Dunham, A. Stillman, I. Davies, A. Rodewald, V. Ruiz-Gutierrez, and C. Wood. 2023. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2022; Released: 2023. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. doi: 10.2173/ebirdst.2022
  7. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  8. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  9. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  10. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  11. Parker III, T. A., D. F. Stotz, and J. W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Ecological and distributional databases for neotropical birds. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
  12. Poole, A. F. and F. B. Gill. 1992. The birds of North America. The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. and The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA.
  13. Rosenberg, K.V, A.M. Dokter, P.J. Blancher, J.R. Sauer, A.C. Smith, P.A. Smith, J.C. Stanton, A. Panjabi, L. Helft, M. Parr, P.P. Marra. 2019. Decline of the North American avifauna. Science. Published online. 19 Sep 2019.
  14. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  15. Taylor, W. K. 1967. Breeding biology and ecology of the Verdin, AURIPARUS FLAVICEPS (Sundevall). Ph.D. dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe.
  16. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  17. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  18. Webster, M. D. 2020. Verdin (<i>Auriparus flaviceps</i>), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. doi.: 10.2173/bow.verdin.01
  19. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  20. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.