Virginia's Warbler

Vermivora virginiaeOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: VIWA Scientific Name: VERVIR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178864

Breeding Location:

Mountains, Scrub vegetation areas

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White with brown flecks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

11 - 12

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Bark pieces, grasses, moss, lichens, and stems.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Virginia's Warbler: Small warbler with gray upperparts and yellow rump. Throat is white, breast and undertail are yellow, and sides and belly are white with a gray wash. Head has rufous crown patch and bold white eye-rings. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller.

Range and Habitat

Virginia's Warbler: Breeds from southeastern California, southern Idaho, and northern Colorado south to Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. Spends winters south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include scrub oak and other chaparral, pinyon-juniper brushlands, and pine and oak woodlands.

Breeding and Nesting

Virginia's Warbler: Three to five brown flecked, white eggs are laid in a loosely built cup nest on the ground. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Virginia's Warbler: Diet consists mostly of insects. Forages on the ground, in foliage, or catches insects in mid-air.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Virginia’s Warbler: Two part song with slurred notes. Call is "chink."

Similar Species

Virginia's Warbler: Lucy's Warbler lacks white eye-ring, yellow rump, and undertail coverts. Nashville Warbler has more yellow on underparts and more olive on upperparts. Colima Warbler is larger and darker, and its range is restricted to a small area in Texas.

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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.

Virginia's Warbler

Virginia's Warbler: Small warbler, gray upperparts, yellow rump. Throat is white with yellow patch, breast and undertail are yellow, sides and belly are white with a gray wash. Head has rufous crown patch, bold white eye-rings. Named for the wife of the army surgeon who discovered it in New Mexico.

● Song: "chee-wee, chee-wee, chee-wee, cheeah, cheeah, chee", "chink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Virginia's Warbler: Diet consists mostly of insects. Forages on the ground, in foliage, or catches insects in mid-air.

● Breeding & nesting: Virginia's Warbler: Three to five brown flecked, white eggs are laid in a loosely built cup nest on the ground. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Virginia's Warbler: Lucy's Warbler lacks white eye-ring, yellow rump, and undertail coverts. Nashville Warbler has more yellow on underparts and more olive on upperparts. Colima Warbler is larger and darker, and its range is restricted to a small area in Texas.

Flight Pattern

Weak flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: Virginia's Warbler: Breeds from southeastern California, southern Idaho, and northern Colorado south to Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas. Spends winters south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include scrub oak and other chaparral, pinyon-juniper brushlands, and pine and oak woodlands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^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.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

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