From the Highlands to the Sea

Rufous-capped warbler (photo from Wikimedia) 6 October 2026, WINGS Veracruz: Migration is a Moving Experience: Day 7, traveling from Xalapa to Veracruz (city) Today we travel from the highlands at Xalapa to sea level at Veracruz. We’ll make birding stops along the way and look in at the hawk watches to see who’s flying by. Versatile about elevation The birds we saw above 4,000 feet generally do not come down to the foothills but there are a couple of versatile species that we may see up top and possibly encounter at sea level. The rufous-capped warbler (Basileuterus rufifrons), pictured at top, is flexible about elevation but picky about moisture and thickets. He inhabits dry scrub and semi-open habitats from sea level to 9,800 feet. The brown-backed solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis) is closely related to Townsend’s solitaire, a western mountain bird that occasionally visits Pennsylvania. Brown-backed solitaires inhabit semi-arid or pine-oak forests from 2,000 to 11,500 feet in…