The Townsend’s warbler, ‘a very dream of a bird’, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window). Members of this diverse group make up more than half of the bird species worldwide. Outside of the nesting season, these birds forage in mixed flocks. American redstart. Although they usually forage high up in trees, Townsend's Warblers may be lured closer by an imitation of a Pygmy Owl. Townsend's warbler was formally described in 1837 by the American naturalist John Kirk Townsend under the binomial name Sylvia townsendi. Audubon, for whom a host of birds get their name, let alone his artistic fame, was a slave owner . Most North American warblers do not molt into a drab fall/winter plumage; the challenge posed to those trying to identify warblers in the fall results from looking at mostly juvenile birds.
Wood-warblers, usually called “warblers” for short by Americans, are strictly a New World family. Outside of the breeding season, Townsend's Warblers can often be found in mixed flocks with chickadees, kinglets, and other warblers, or rarely in single-species flocks of Townsend's Warblers. Townsend's Warblers are at risk from habitat loss on both their breeding and wintering grounds. Adult males have a black cap, black throat and yellow lower breast; females have a dark cap and a yellow throat. The mid-elevation conifer habitat where they breed has suffered extensive deforestation in Washington during the past sixty years.

Chest and sides are yellow with darker streaks. But in spring, I step outside my doorway and let the wave sweep them all into my outstretched hands: Townsend’s and yellow-rumped, Wilson’s and orange-crowned, hermit and black-throated gray. Their breeding habitats are coniferous forests with large trees on the northwestern coast of North America. Females and immatures are similar but less strongly marked. In summer, they are confined to a relatively small corner of the country, breeding only in the four northwesternmost states of the lower 48. Townsend's warbler. Just look at it: vivid yellow contrasts with black in stunning tiger stripes across the face, a glowing gem in the dark foliage of the winter woods. The Townsend's Warbler, along with the Hermit , Golden-cheeked , Black-throated Green, and Black-throated Gray Warblers, is considered part of the Black-throated Green superspecies, or virens group. Later, in fall, when the great mass of those brilliant tourists leave, when those hordes of warblers, flycatchers, vireos and orioles head back to the crowded tropical forests of Mexico and Central America, then the Townsend’s warbler stops short, eschews the departing carnival of color and remains in California.

The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds, birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation. Frank Lambert Stephen Lester. The Townsend’s warbler is the loveliest bird in California. [3] Townsend's warbler is now placed in the genus Setophaga that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827. and Mr. William Bullock jun", "New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Townsend%27s_warbler&oldid=982665864, Native birds of the Northwestern United States, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 October 2020, at 15:39. From May through September, Townsend's Warblers are common in appropriate habitat in western Washington and at higher elevations throughout the state, although they are uncommon on the Olympic Peninsula. In The birds of North America, No. North American males are typically brightly colored, many with patches of yellow. Jack Gedney’s On the Wing runs every other Monday. Passages from Townsend's journal add authenticity. There the sharply marked males sing from high in the spruces and hemlocks; their buzzy songs are quite variable, and some are similar to those of the Black-throated Green Warbler, an eastern relative. Sometimes a female Townsend's Warbler will partially construct a nest in one tree, then move all the materials to another tree and finish the nest there. 0:00 / Townsend's warbler (song) male, song. Learn more about Townsend's Warbler from…. It’s such a good food resource that Townsend’s Warblers set up and defend territories around trees infested with the insects. Listen to Townsend's warbler on bird-sounds.net - a comprehensive collection of North American bird songs and bird calls. 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. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Occasionally, they utter a simple “chip,” with a call a bit sharper than the yellow-rumped warbler, closer to that of juncos. I feel roughly the same way about the Townsend’s warbler in winter. Favors coniferous trees where they forage for insects; also found in a variety of wooded suburban habitats in the winter. The coniferous forest of the Pacific Northwest is the summer home of Townsend's Warbler. Intensity of colors varies with age and sex, but overall color pattern remains the same. Sylvia townsendi (protonym) Washington's breeding Townsend's Warblers leave in late summer or early fall and spend the winter in the highlands of southern Mexico and Central America.

Wings have two white bars. These nests are usually placed atop a branch in a conifer. Dozens of western plants and animals bear the names of these early naturalists. They are a family of small, insect-eating songbirds that are often adorned with bright colors, most often yellow.

Note dark ear patch surrounded by yellow and streaked sides. The Townsend's Warbler is part of a larger "superspecies" — a group of bird species that are closely related, but developed in geographic isolation from each other.

Other birds winter in Mexico, Central America, and the south-western United States. The Townsend’s warbler is the loveliest bird in California. Small songbird. Their white outer tail feathers are conspicuous in flight. The Townsend's Warbler hybridizes with the similar-looking Hermit Warbler where their ranges overlap in Oregon and Washington. Favors coniferous trees where they forage for insects; also found in a variety of wooded suburban habitats in the winter. [4][5] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[5]. Also shows olive back and grayish wings with bold white wingbars. Monogamous pairs form shortly after the females arrive. Description. He is a co-owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Novato, leads walks and seminars on nature in Marin, and blogs at Nature In Novato. This bird tends to forage for insects high in the forest canopy. The female lays 4 to 5 brown-speckled white eggs. Look for the dark eye patch. The main reason for the under-recognition of the Townsend’s warbler is simply geographical. However their brains are relatively large and their learning abilities are greater than those of most other birds. Townsend's warbler has a yellow face with a black stripe across itscheeks extending into an ear patch, a thin pointed bill, two white wing bars, olive upperparts with black streaks on their backs and flanks, and a white belly. I love birdsong.
The black markings on immatures are paler and the throat is yellow.

333 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Townsend’s Warblers breed in mature coniferous and mixed woodlands, especially old-growth fir forest with extensive understory, and in spruce and hemlock forests in the northern parts of their range. In April, all will sing. Note dark ear patch surrounded by yellow and streaked sides. The black stripes across the eyes have yellow spots directly under the eyes. This large group of small, brightly colored songbirds is a favorite of many birdwatchers. GET BREAKING NEWS IN YOUR BROWSER. See more images of this species in Macaulay Library. They have black throats and yellow breasts with black streaks on the sides. New World Warblers(Order: Passeriformes, Family:Parulidae). [2] The type locality is Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River in the state of Washington. song. And so we see this bird not just in winter’s intermission, but also at spring’s great raising of the curtain. You can reach him at jack@natureinnovato.com. It sometimes catches insects in mid-air. In the winter, taciturnity is their more typical mode. Townsend was accompanied on this expedition by English botanist Thomas Nuttall. Most of the North American members of this group are migratory, returning in the winter to the tropics where the family originated. Also shows olive back and grayish wings with bold white wingbars. Townsend's Warblers have also been identified as highly susceptible to alteration of tropical forest habitats.

It is a species of the Pacific slope, seldom celebrated in the standard catalogs of the continent’s avian beauties. Many supplement their insect diet with some seeds and fruit, primarily in fall and winter, and some also eat nectar. The Townsend’s warbler is a Spring and Fall migrant throughout the Refuge where it frequents coniferous forests. These warblers spend the winter not just in Mexico and Central America, but all along the U.S. Pacific Coast as well, where they often show up in backyards. Blackpoll warbler.

Townsend's warbler (Setophaga townsendi) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. During the nesting season, they spend much of their time high in the forest canopy and mix little with people. The call is a sharp tup. The ethereal, buzzy songs of Townsend’s Warblers wafting through old-growth conifer forests provide a dreamlike soundtrack to an enchanting environment. Townsend's Warblers have expanded their range southward in Washington, and as a result now hybridize with Hermit Warblers. Passerine birds are divided into two suborders, the suboscines and the oscines. Townsend's Warblers eat primarily insects, although berries and some nectar round out the winter diet.

Breeds in tall evergreen and mixed evergreen-deciduous forests. But, they are far less social than those species, which gather in flocks of chatty dispositions, and are often completely silent. Townsend’s Warblers forage by gleaning, hovering, and hawking insects in the foliage of conifers (especially when breeding) and deciduous trees, often around the outer portion of the canopy. They forage by gleaning items from foliage, usually by climbing about, but sometimes while hovering. View full list of Washington State's Species of Special Concern. Adult males have a black ear patch surrounded by yellow. Townsend’s Warbler was first noted to science by John Kirk Townsend, an American naturalist who collected a male specimen near the mouth of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon, on April 16, 1835. Search. Both the male and the female feed the young, which leave the nest about 10 days after hatching. Townsend's Warblers are primarily birds of coniferous forests, especially mature, dense stands of at least 20 acres. His discovery followed a long cross-continental trek. Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi). They have gray wings with white wingbars, an olive-green back, and a yellow breast with bold black flank streaks. The oldest recorded Townsend's Warbler was a male and at least 10 years, 8 months old, when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California. Blackburnian warbler. But in winter, they head south and to the coast, dividing time mostly between Mexico and the edge of the Pacific.

Free, global bird ID and field guide app powered by your sightings and media. Birds from Haida Gwaii migrate short distances further south on the Pacific coast. The female incubates 3 to 5 eggs for 11 to 14 days. His discovery followed a long cross-continental trek.


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