The Blackburnian warbler (Setophaga fusca ) is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.
Blackburnian warblers are migratory, wintering in southern Central America and in South America, and are very rare vagrants to western Europe.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Generally solitaryGenerally solitary animals are those animals that spend their time separately but will gather at foraging areas or sleep in the same location or sh...
Flocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withBlackburnian warblers are small colorful songbirds that breed in eastern North America. In summer, males display dark gray backs and double white wing bars, with yellowish rumps and dark brown crowns. The underparts of these birds are white and are tinged with yellow and streaked black. The head is strongly patterned in yellow and black, with a flaming-orange throat. Other plumages, including the fall male and adult female, are washed-out versions of the summer male, and in particular lack the bright colors and strong head pattern. Blackburnian warblers are practically unmistakable if seen well, even the females due to their dull-yellow supercilium, contrasting with greyish cheeks and yellow throat contrasting with the dark streaky sides and back.
Blackburnian warblers breed from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region, and New England, to North Carolina. They are migratory, wintering in southern Central America and in South America, and are very rare vagrants to western Europe. The breeding habitats of these birds are mature coniferous woodlands, the southeastern portion of Canada's boreal forest, and mixed woodlands, especially ones containing spruce and hemlocks. Blackburnian warblers typically winter in tropical humid montane forests.
Blackburnian warblers are solitary during winter and highly territorial on their breeding grounds and do not mix with other birds outside of the migratory period. However, during migration, they often join local mixed foraging flocks of chickadees, kinglets, and nuthatches. Similarly, in the tropics, they are fairly social while engaging in migration but solitary from other birds while wintering. Blackburnian warblers are active during the day and usually forage by searching for insects or spiders in treetops. Blackburnian warblers generally sing at dusk and dawn. Their songs are a simple series of high 'swi' notes, which often ascend in pitch; these include 'zip zip zip zip zip zip zip zip', 'titititi tseeeeee' or 'teetsa teetsa teetsa teetsa'. Their common call is a high 'sip'.
Blackburnian warblers are carnivores (insectivores). They feed mainly on insects, especially caterpillars but will also eat moths, butterflies, beetles, ants, flies, and spiders. In winter their diet also includes berries.
Blackburnian warblers form monogamous pairs. The breeding season begins in mid-May to early June in the contiguous United States and about 1 to 2 weeks later in Quebec. Pairs build a nest near the end of a branch consisting of an open cup of twigs, bark, plant fibers, and rootlets held to branch with spider web and lined with lichens, moss, hair, and dead pine needles. Blackburnian warblers typically lay only one brood per year, but if a nest is destroyed they may produce a second or even third brood. The female lays 3 to 5 whitish eggs and incubates them for 12-13 days. Only the female broods and spends about 80% day actively brooding, while the male usually helps bring food to the nest. The chicks hatch altricial (helpless); they remain in the nest about 2-4 weeks and become independent from their parents 2-3 months later. Females usually start to breed at 2 years of age while males become reproductively mature when they are between 1 and 2 years old.
The greatest threat to Blackburnian warblers is the destruction of forest habitat, which could cause the birds to lose up to more than 30% of their wintering or breeding habitat.
According to Partners in Flight resource, the total population size of the Blackburnian warbler is 13,000,000 breeding individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are increasing.