A breathtaking warbler — adult males have a flame-orange throat that glows against black cheeks. Forages at the very top of mature conifers, so often glimpsed only as a torch in the canopy.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The Blackburnian warbler 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. They are migratory, wintering in southern Central America and South America, and are very rare vagrants to western Europe. The common name honors the English botanist Anna Blackburne.
Source: Wikipedia — Blackburnian warbler Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Breeding male spectacular: flame-orange throat and face, black crown and cheek triangle, black-and-white back. Females and fall birds show a paler yellow-orange throat and pale 'braces' on the back.
Similar species. No other eastern warbler shows the fiery orange throat; dull birds recall Yellow-throated Warbler but lack the clean gray back and bold face pattern.
Voice. An extremely high, thin song ending on an almost inaudible upslurred note: 'zip-zip-zip-titi-tseeeee'.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects (caterpillars primary), spiders, occasional berries on migration.
Behavior. Forages high in the canopy of mature conifers and hemlocks, gleaning insects from the outer foliage. Breeds in northern and Appalachian spruce-fir and hemlock forest.
§ Range
Northeastern North American conifer forests in summer; winters in northern Andes
§ Habitat
Mature spruce-fir and hemlock forests with hemlock especially favored
§ Threats
Hemlock woolly adelgid killing eastern hemlocks, Andean cloud-forest loss, climate-driven range shift.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the blackburnian warbler is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support hemlock adelgid treatment programs. Buy shade-grown Andean coffee. Donate to conifer forest protection.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Blackburnian warbler
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Setophaga fusca
- IUCN Red List — search for Setophaga fusca
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Setophaga fusca
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
