On April 27, 2010, while birding at Dowdell’s Knob on the Pine Mountain ridge in northeastern Harris County, I found this Red-faced Warbler(Cardellina rubifrons) as it was singing on an oak branch 10 feet above the road. The song was not typical, with 3-4 slurred American Redstart-type notes that were sometimes followed with a quick ‘ti-ti-ti’. I was able to go back and get the camera and rattle off a few shots as I watched the bird is disbelief for about 2 minutes. The bird slowly worked its way away from the road and eventually out of sight and hearing distance. Unfortunately, the bird was not relocated by others.
This is a distinctive species, as no other songbird in North America has a red and black head. You can see in the photos the all gray body and the head with a red face and black patch over the crown and cheek. This would be a first state record and possibly the first record east of the Mississippi River if accepted by the Records Committee.
POSSIBLY THE FIRST RECORD EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI
