Blue-winged Warbler
[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Parulidae | [latin] Vermivora cyanoptera | [UK] Blue-winged Warbler | [FR] Sylvette a ailes bleues | [DE] Blauflugel-Waldsanger | [ES] Cipe ala azul | [NL] Blauwvleugelzanger
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
| Oreothlypis | cyanoptera | ||||
| Vermivora | cyanoptera | NA | e | MA |
Physical charateristics
Face and underparts yellow; wings with two white bars. Note the narrow black mark through the eye. Sexes similar.
Listen to the sound of Blue-winged Warbler
[audio:http://www.aviflevoland.nl/sounddb/B/Blue-winged Warbler.mp3]
Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto
| wingspan min.: | 14 | cm | wingspan max.: | 15 | cm |
| size min.: | 11 | cm | size max.: | 12 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 10 | days | incubation max.: | 11 | days |
| fledging min.: | 8 | days | fledging max.: | 10 | days |
| broods: | 1 | eggs min.: | 4 | ||
| eggs max.: | 5 |
Range
North America : East
Habitat
Brushy hillsides, bogs, overgrown pastures, stream and woodland edges.
Breeds in dry uplands in low shrubbery, brier patches, weed-grown fencerows, and bushy thickets; in neglected fields or at the border of woods. Sometimes found in grasses and weeds near the border of swamps and streams. Occasionally in deep swamp woods.
Breeds in dry uplands in low shrubbery, brier patches, weed-grown fencerows, and bushy thickets; in neglected fields or at the border of woods. Sometimes found in grasses and weeds near the border of swamps and streams. Occasionally in deep swamp woods.
Reproduction
Hybridizes with Golden-winged Warbler. Hybrids, known as “Brewster’s” Warblers, are fertile, and they backcross with the parent species and with each other; second-generation hybrids include a rare type known as “Lawrence’s”
Warbler. Males sing two types of songs, one in territorial interactions and one in courting a mate.
Nest:
Nest is well concealed in grass or blackberry vines, sometimes under a bush or sapling, close to or on the ground. Attached to upright stems of grass or weeds, especially goldenrod. The bulky nest is a narrow, deep, inverted cone, usually built by the fem
ale alone. Constructed of dead leaves, grass, and beech or grapevine bark, and lined with plant fibers or animal hair.
Eggs: 5, sometimes 4-7. White, with fine brown spots on larger end. Female incubates, 10-11 days.
Young: Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave nest 8-11 days after hatching.
Warbler. Males sing two types of songs, one in territorial interactions and one in courting a mate.
Nest:
Nest is well concealed in grass or blackberry vines, sometimes under a bush or sapling, close to or on the ground. Attached to upright stems of grass or weeds, especially goldenrod. The bulky nest is a narrow, deep, inverted cone, usually built by the fem
ale alone. Constructed of dead leaves, grass, and beech or grapevine bark, and lined with plant fibers or animal hair.
Eggs: 5, sometimes 4-7. White, with fine brown spots on larger end. Female incubates, 10-11 days.
Young: Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave nest 8-11 days after hatching.
Feeding habits
Insects and spiders.
Details of diet are not well known; probably feeds mostly on small insects (adults, larvae, and eggs), including beetles, ants, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, also spiders.
Behavior: Forages by moving about i
n shrubs and trees, often fairly low. Preferred method of foraging is by probing with bill into curled leaves. Also gleans rather deliberately on outer tips of branches, perhaps probing into buds and flowers.
Details of diet are not well known; probably feeds mostly on small insects (adults, larvae, and eggs), including beetles, ants, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, also spiders.
Behavior: Forages by moving about i
n shrubs and trees, often fairly low. Preferred method of foraging is by probing with bill into curled leaves. Also gleans rather deliberately on outer tips of branches, perhaps probing into buds and flowers.
Conservation
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Migration
Eastern United States. Winters Mexico to Panama. In West, accidental in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California. Migration:
Migrates mostly at night. Tends to arrive a little earlier in spring than the Golden-winged Warbler.
Migrates mostly at night. Tends to arrive a little earlier in spring than the Golden-winged Warbler.
Distribution map
