Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler, male

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Blackburnian Warbler, female

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A bird of the coniferous forests of the Northeast, the Blackburnian Warbler is breathtaking in its brilliant orange-and-black breeding plumage.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Brilliant orange throat.
• Orange yellow eyebrow.
• Small black face mask.
• Broad white wingbars.

• Size: 11-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 20-21 cm (8-8 in)
• Weight: 9-13 g (0.32-0.46 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male brightly colored, female similarly patterned but duller.

Sound

Song thin and very high pitched, "zip, zip, zip, zip, titititi, tseeee," and "teetsa, teetsa, teetsa, teetsa."

Conservation Status

Populations stable.

Other Names

Paruline à gorge orangée (French)
Verdín pasajero (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• No other North American warbler has an orange throat.

• The Blackburnian Warbler is territorial on its breeding grounds and solitary in the winter. It forms flocks only during migration.

• Although the Blackburnian Warbler does not associate with other birds while it is nesting, it will join foraging flocks of chickadees, kinglets, and nuthatches after the young fledge. The warbler will follow the mixed flock with its begging young. The begging of the warbler chicks can even attract chickadees.

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Dunn, J. L., and Garrett, K. L. 1997. A Field Guide to Warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
2. Morse, D. H. 1994. Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca). In The Birds of North America, No. 102 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.