Blackburnian Warbler
Dendroica
fusca
Description
5" (13 cm). Breeding male black and
white with vivid orange throat, crown patch, and eyebrow; and large
white wing patch; female similar, but has yellow throat. Back of
both sexes boldly striped. Immature male similar to
female.
Voice
Very thin and wiry, increasing in speed and
rising to the limit of hearing,
sleet-sleet-sleet-sleet-sleetee-sleeeee. Also
tiddly-tiddly-tiddly-tiddly at same speed and pitch.
Habitat
Most numerous in mixed forests of
hemlock, spruce, and various hardwoods, usually ranging high in
trees.
Nesting
4 brown-spotted white eggs in a twig nest
lined with lichens, mosses, and hair, usually placed high in a large
conifer.
Range
Breeds from Saskatchewan east to Nova
Scotia, south to Great Lakes, southern New England, and in mountains
to northern Georgia. Winters in tropics.
Discussion
Blackburnian Warblers are usually
found high in trees, even during migration, and are not readily
noticed in the dense foliage unless their high-pitched song
announces their presence. At times they may be detected at the ends
of branches, picking among leaves for bugs or
caterpillars.
