Q: I have seen a small yellow bird in the garden. Someone told me it was a wild canary. Is this true?

A: This would be a yellow warbler (length approx. 12 cm) -- distinguished from all other warblers that are often yellow below. The male does show chestnut-red breast streakings and is smaller and more delicate than a sparrow.

Warblers actively flit amongst trees and shrubs much like butterflies. As they are insect eaters they do not arrive until there is food around the end of April/early May. This bird can be confused with the American Goldfinch that has black wings and a heavier bill. Yellow Warblers prefer moist areas with willow trees, poplars, aspens, and streamsides. Migration occurs towards the end of August for a winter in Mexico and further south -- I have seen many in the Galapagos off the coast of Ecuador. They have a cheerful song and brighten up a spring day with their colour and voice.

In the west we have many other warblers: Nashville, Audubon, Orange-crowned, Townsend's, American Redstart, Wilson's and the Common Yellowthroat. Warblers are subject to parasitism by Cowbirds.
Eastern Canada boasts many species, crossing Lake Erie from the south to Point Pelee in southern Ontario. A gathering place for thousands of birders to witness this miracle of flight, birds arrive in Point Pelee exhausted and rest in the trees almost inviting photographers.

Explain: Parasitism is the term for invasion of a nest by a larger bird -- in North America the Cowbird; in Europe the Cuckoo. The Cowbird lays an egg that the warbler broods. As the young grow the Cowbird becomes bigger and feeds voraciously eventually pushing the young warblers from the nest. For the Yellow Warbler 32% of nests are parasitised.