Townsend's Warbler

Dendroica townsendiOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: TOWA Scientific Name: DENTOW ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178897

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Fairly common in coniferous range

Egg Color:

White with small brown dots

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Bark pieces, plant fibers, lichens, grasses, and cocoon materials.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Townsend's Warbler: Small warbler with black-spotted, olive green upperparts and black throat and upper breast. Lower breast and sides are yellow with heavy black streaks, and belly is white. Head has bright yellow face, black crown and cheek patch, and white crescent below eye. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail has thick white edges and dark center and tip. Female and juvenile are duller with yellow throats and black-spotted, yellow upper breasts.

Range and Habitat

Townsend's Warbler: Breeds from Alaska and British Columbia to northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Spends winters from southwestern California southward. Preferred habitats include coniferous forests, especially old stands of Douglas firs.

Breeding and Nesting

Townsend's Warbler: Three to five white eggs, with small brown spots, are laid in a well-concealed shallow cup nest, usually in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 12 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Townsend's Warbler: Diet consists of insects and spiders; forages by gleaning prey from clumps of leaves while perched or hovering; occasionally catches flying insects in mid-air.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Townsend's Warbler: Song is a high, wheezy "zwee zwee zwee zwee sweezit", rising in pitch then dropping at the end, although the pattern is quite variable.

Similar Species

Townsend's Warbler: Black-throated Green Warbler has yellow cheeks and face without dark ear patches. Hermit Warbler lacks black cheeks and crown.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Townsend's Warbler

Townsend's Warbler: Olive-green upperparts, black throat and upper breast. Lower breast and sides are yellow with black streaks and belly is white.Face is yellow with black crown and cheek patch and yellow crescent below eye. Wings have two white bars. Tail has white edges, dark center and tip.

● Song: "zwee-zwee-zwee", "tew", "eek", "whee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Townsend's Warbler: Diet consists of insects and spiders; forages by gleaning prey from clumps of leaves while perched or hovering; occasionally catches flying insects in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Townsend's Warbler: Three to five white eggs, with small brown spots, are laid in a well-concealed shallow cup nest, usually in a conifer. Eggs are incubated for 12 days by the female.

● Similar species: Townsend's Warbler: Black-throated Green Warbler has yellow cheeks and face without dark ear patches. Hermit Warbler lacks black cheeks and crown.

Flight Pattern

Weak flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: Townsend's Warbler: Breeds from Alaska and British Columbia to northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Spends winters from southwestern California southward. Preferred habitats include coniferous forests, especially old stands of Douglas firs.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common in coniferous range

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.3 Ounces

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America