Black-throated Green Warbler

Setophaga virens

Bright yellow face with olive cheeks, crown, and back. Only breeding males have solid black throat. In all plumages, look for dark streaks on white flanks and yellow wash on vent. Breeds in mixed coniferous forests; migrants can be found in any wooded habitat, usually with tall trees. Winters primarily in Central America and the Caribbean, rarely into northern South America. Compare especially with Townsend’s Warbler on the wintering grounds, but Black-throated Green has a less contrasting face pattern (especially paler crown and cheeks) and less yellow on breast.

Identification

It has an olive-green crown, a yellow face with olive markings, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, an olive-green back and pale underparts with black streaks on the flanks. Adult males have a black throat and upper breast; females have a pale throat and black markings on their breast.<p>Measurements:

Taxonomy

Genus: Setophaga; Family: Parulidae; Order: Passeriformes.

Scientific name
Setophaga virens
Authority
(Gmelin, JF, 1789)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Parulidae
Genus
Setophaga

Range and habitat

The breeding habitat of the black-throated green warbler is coniferous and mixed forests in eastern North America and western Canada and cypress swamps on the southern Atlantic coast. These birds' nests are open cups, which are usually situated close to the trunk of a tree.<p>These birds migrate to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and southern Florida. One destination is to the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatán. Some birds straggle as far as South America, with the southernmost couple of records coming from Ecuador.

Breeding range
NA : c Canada to se Canada and ne, e and nc USA
Non-breeding range
Mexico to n SA and West Indies
Migration
Complete migrants

Behavior

Migration pattern: Complete migrants.

Conservation

Population trend: stable.

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

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Pectoral-patch Cisticola

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A tiny, short-tailed streaky brown cisticola. Breeding male has an unstreaked rufous crown and dark lores. Female and non-breeding male have a streaked crown. Found in short grassland, mostly in montane areas but also locally at lower elevations. Very similar to several other cisticolas, though often distinguished by range. Breeding male can be identified by its unstreaked rufous crown. Female and non-breeding male may only be distinguishable by voice. Inconspicuous for most of the year; usually seen when performing a flight display over its breeding habitat. The song consists of a series of rough “tshek” notes that accelerate as the bird drops to the ground. Sometimes there are also wing snaps. 

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Northern Rosella

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