General

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Small warbler that is the most strikingly sexually dimorphic of all wood warblers. Male has dark blue upperparts, black throat and mask, white underparts, and prominent white wing patch at base of primaries. Female has olive-brown upperparts, olive-yellow underparts, white eyebrow, and white wing patch.

Range and Habitat

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Breeds from Ontario east to Quebec and Nova Scotia, south to Minnesota, Great Lakes, and Connecticut, and in the mountains to northern Georgia; spends winters in Gulf coast states and the Greater Antilles. Preferred habitats include mixed deciduous and evergreen woodlands with thick undergrowth, especially mountain laurel.

Breeding and Nesting

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Three to five white eggs, marked and flecked with brown and gray, are laid in a nest made of leaves and grass, lined with cobwebs and hair, and set near the ground in a shrub or young tree. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Feeds on insects and other small invertebrates. During the breeding season, forages from on the ground to high in the forest canopy; male often forages higher than female; locates a high percentage of prey from the lower surface of leaves. Small fruits are often eaten during winter.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Song is a husky, rising "zwee-zwee-zwee."

Similar Species

Black-throated Blue Warbler: Tennessee Warbler has unbroken white line behind eye and lacks white wing patch. Orange-crowned Warbler has yellow to green upperparts and yellow-green underparts.