Blackburnian Warbler    Dendroica fusca

Migratory Status: Neotropical migrant

PIF Population Estimate: 5 900 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: 57%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 48.43

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 80

Canadian BBS Population trend: 1.0 n.s. (-0.2 to 2.3)

Life History

The male Blackburnian Warbler is perhaps one of the most striking and distinct members of the wood warbler family in North America. Unlike other members of the genus, the male Blackburnian Warbler’s upper body consists of patches of black interspersed with what can only be described as flaming or blazing orange.

The breeding range of this species extends over most of the southern boreal forest, from western Newfoundland to east-central Alberta. The breeding range also extends south into mixed and deciduous-dominated forests associated with the Great Lakes and the Adirondack and Appalachian Mountains. The winter range includes southern Central America and northern South America, extending south through the Andes to Peru, and occasionally to the Brazilian Amazon.

Throughout its breeding range, the Blackburnian Warbler is most often associated with mature to old coniferous-dominated or mixed-conifer forests. In more southern portions of the breeding range, the species occupies mainly deciduous-dominated forests. On the wintering grounds, they are most numerous in highland or montane sites (1 000 to 2 000 m elevation), especially in the humid forests on the east slope of the Andes.

The Blackburnian Warbler is largely insectivorous during the breeding season, with lepidopteran (butterfly and moth) larvae being the dominant prey item. They often glean insects from twigs and branches high in trees, but will also hover to extract insects from the underside of vegetation.

Reference(s)

Morse, D. H. 2004. Blackburnian Warbler ( Dendroica fusca), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/102