Kirtland's Warbler

Dendroica kirtlandiiOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: KIWA Scientific Name: DENKIR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178917

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Declining

Egg Color:

White or pale pink with brown flecks and spots

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

13 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Bark pieces, grass, leaves, and plant fibers.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Kirtland's Warbler: Rare, medium-sized warbler with black-streaked gray upperparts and yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. Face is black with broken white eye-ring. Legs, feet, and bill are black. Female, winter adult, and juvenile are duller with yellow breasts and white bellies, and lack black masks.

Range and Habitat

Kirtland's Warbler: Breeds in upper and lower Michigan in 13 counties from Lake Huron west to Kalkaska County, and from Presque Isle County south to Ogemaw County. Winters throughout the Bahama Islands. Nests exclusively in young jack-pine forests 80 acres or larger with numerous small, grassy openings. Winters in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.

Breeding and Nesting

Kirtland's Warbler: Four to six white or pale pink eggs with brown flecks and spots are laid in a ground nest made of bark strips and vegetable fibers, and lined with grass and pine needles. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Kirtland's Warbler: Diet consists of insects, including caterpillars, butterflies, moths, flies, and grasshoppers; also eats blueberries.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Kirtland's Warbler: Song is a clear "chip-chip-che-way-o."

Similar Species

Kirtland's Warbler: Prairie and Palm warblers have yellow rumps and faces and lack the broken eye-ring.

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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.

Kirtland's Warbler

Kirtland's Warbler: Rare, medium-sized warbler with black-streaked gray upperparts and yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. The face is black with a broken white eye-ring. Legs, feet, and bill are black. It is a ground nester, prefers Jack Pine stands over 80 acres in size.

● Song: "chip-chip-che-way-o"

● Foraging & Feeding: Kirtland's Warbler: Diet consists of insects, including caterpillars, butterflies, moths, flies, and grasshoppers; also eats blueberries.

● Breeding & nesting: Kirtland's Warbler: Four to six white or pale pink eggs with brown flecks and spots are laid in a ground nest made of bark strips and vegetable fibers, and lined with grass and pine needles. Incubation ranges from 13 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Kirtland's Warbler: Prairie and Palm warblers have yellow rumps and faces and lack the broken eye-ring.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flight with shallow wing beats.

Kirtland's Warbler Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Kirtland's Warbler: Breeds in upper and lower Michigan in 13 counties from Lake Huron west to Kalkaska County, and from Presque Isle County south to Ogemaw County. Winters throughout the Bahama Islands. Nests exclusively in young jack-pine forests 80 acres or larger with numerous small, grassy openings. Winters in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationDeclining

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

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