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Winter: Winters from Veracruz and Oaxaca south through Mexico to Costa Rica, also in Florida and the West Indies. Breeding habitat Southeastern populations are primarily associated with bottomlands and swamps, where they inhabit mature coniferous and deciduous forests in which Spanish moss is an important component of the nesting habitat. In the north, this species is found in mature spruce and mixed northern hardwood forests and bogs with abundant bearded lichens (Usnea). Only occasionally occurs in woodlands without moss or lichens. They are especially abundant in the windswept, spruce-covered islands off the Maine coast and in the Maritime provinces, as well as in the bottomland hardwood and cypress forests of the southeastern coastal plain and the lower Mississippi Valley. Conservation Status This warbler is of moderate conservation importance, primarily because of its dependence on mature forests with healthy epiphyte growth. Although the overall species population appears to be stable, trends vary from region to region. Significant declines have occurred in the Mississippi Valley and southern coastal plains, whereas northern and Appalachian populations have increased. Knowledge of precise habitat requirements and sensitivity to forest fragmentation will be important for sustaining future populations Description Male: Small and compact warbler with a noticeably short tail. Upperparts are primarily bluish with a bronze-green patch on the back. Bluish wings show two prominent white wing bars. Throat and breast yellow, with a chestnut and black band across the breast. A broken white eye ring and black lores stand out on the bluish face. Female: Generally the same as the adult male, but with less blue and more gray on the upperparts; only a wash of chestnut on the yellow breast. Juvenile: Upperparts are grayish with a wash of olive-green on the back and thing, white wing bars. Underparts may show a little yellow on the chin, but normally only a grayish breast and whitish belly are notable. A dark gray line running through the eye borders a gray-white eyebrow. Vocalizations Songs: The most common song is a simple, rising, buzzy trill ending in a short, separated note. A less frequent and more complex song consists of a slower series of buzzy notes. Singing is almost exclusively by the male, but there is at least 1 record of a singing female. Calls: Males and females both give a clear, sweet, chip and an downward inflected tseep. Nestlings and fledglings apparently give 2 types of begging calls. Foraging strategy Most commonly gleans tips of foliage, small twigs, and branches high in the canopy; occasionally also hovers or hangs upside-down on foliage, and sallies for aerial insects. Similar techniques employed in both coniferous and deciduous forests. Diet Preferred prey are spiders and caterpillars, also takes beetles, moths, ants, wasps, bees, flies, locusts, scale insects, plant lice, lacewing flies, and mayflies. Behavior and displays Courtship Nesting Nest site: Typically suspends cup nest near the tip of a tree limb in hanging bunches of epiphytic growth, either Spanish moss in the southern parts of range or beard moss or lace lichen in north; thus, nesting sites are most often in areas where these epiphytes grow. Preferred nesting sites are usually near water, e.g., river bottoms, sloughs, swamps. Height: 10 feet (3 meters) is average, but can range from 6-100 feet (2-30 meters) above the ground. Nest: The nest is constructed mostly of moss or lichen, generally in an area already covered in moss or lichen. The adults conceal the nest with the same materials the nest is constructed with. The inside is usually lined with the same epiphyte fibers collected by the adults, though the bowl is sometimes lined with hair, fine grasses, pine needles, or plant down. Eggs: Averages 3-5 (range 2-7) white to creamy white eggs that are variably speckled and spotted with chestnut red, purplish red, reddish brown. Only the female incubates, and she may start before clutch completion. Incubation period: 12-14 days, only the female incubates. Nestling period: Hatching is asychronous, and the hatchlings are altricial with closed eyes, naked except for white down on head and back. Nestlings are predominantly fed and brooded by the female, although male does occasionally feed. Fledgling period: 10-11 days after hatching the young leave the nest still unable to fly. Fledglings beg by holding body in a crouch, drooping and vibrating wings and tail, throwing back head with mouth agape, vocalizing loudly and constantly near the parents. Female does most of the feeding while the male sings. Time to independence not known. Broods: Probably single brooded. Cowbird Parasitism: An uncommon Brown-headed Cowbird host, probably owing to the closed structure of the nest. There are few, but widespread, records of brood parasitism. |
of range separated by a gap where this species is rare. Breeds in
the spruce and northern hardwood forests of Canada from Manitoba east to the Maritime
Provinces, south to the northern Great Lakes states, the Adirondack Mountains and Northern
New England. Also a common breeder over the entire Southeast, from eastern Texas, the Gulf
Coast states and most of Florida, north to southeastern Nebraska, Iowa, and central
portions of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Recently expanding
(regaining former range), at least along Atlantic Coast between New Jersey and Maine. 
