General

Blackburnian Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with yellow-orange head, black cap and cheek patch, and brilliant orange throat. Upperparts are black with white stripes and underparts are white with black- streaked flanks. Wings have prominent white patches. Tail is black with white on outer tail feathers. Female, winter adult and juvenile have duller orange on throat and white wing-bars instead of patches.

Range and Habitat

Blackburnian Warbler: Breeds from Alberta east to Newfoundland, south to the Great Lakes, southern New England, and along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia. Spends winters in the tropics of South America. Preferred habitats include mixed forests of hemlock, spruce, and various hardwoods.

Breeding and Nesting

Blackburnian Warbler: Four to five brown spotted and blotched, white or pale green eggs are laid in a twig nest lined with lichens, mosses, and hair, usually built high in a large conifer. Incubation ranges from 11 to 12 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Blackburnian Warbler: Eats caterpillars and beetles, hopping from limb to limb high in tall trees. Also hawks insects, flying from a perch to grab them in mid-air.

Vocalization

Blackburnian Warbler: Song is very thin and wiry, increasing in speed and rising to the limit of hearing "sleet-sleet-sleet-sleet-sleetee-sleeeee."

Similar Species

Blackburnian Warbler: Fall Black-throated Green Warbler is similar but has green cheeks and crown that do not contrast much with yellow behind eye. Townsend's Warbler has a more striking face pattern with darker cheeks and crown.