Prothonotary Warbler - Ross Feldner

It gets it name from its plumage which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks (named prothonotaries) in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Prothonotary Warbler prefers breeding in hardwood swamps in the Eastern United States. However, often it will nest near bodies of water such as creeks, streams, ponds, and even swimming pools!

It looks actively in low foliage for insects and snails and sings with a loud, simple song that sounds like sweet- sweet- sweet- sweet- sweet.

This warbler is mentioned in A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold as the "[J]ewel of my disease-ridden woodlot," "as proof that dead trees are transmuted into living animals, and vice versa. When you doubt the wisdom of this arrangement, take a look at the prothonotary."

During the Cold War, the Prothonotary Warbler got its day in court. An American government officer named Alger Hiss was charged with being a Soviet spy in 1948. Whether or not Hiss knew Whittaker Chambers, a former member of the US Communist Party, was a major point of contention during the trial. According to Chambers, he discussed bird watching with Hiss and heard of Hiss's enthusiasm upon spotting a Prothonotary Warbler on the Potomac River. The two were connected by this bird sighting, which ultimately resulted in Hiss's sentencing and Richard Nixon's ascent to political prominence.