The black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.

Description

It has an olive-green crown, a yellow face with olive markings, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, an olive-green back and pale underparts with black streaks on the flanks. Adult males have a black throat and upper breast; females and immature males have a pale throat and black markings on their breast.

Measurements:

  • Length:
  • Weight:
  • Wingspan:

thumb|left|[[Quintana, Texas Male]]

thumb|left|Female black-throated green Warbler

thumb|left|Black-throated green warbler with chicks

Habitat and distribution

The breeding habitat of the black-throated green warbler is coniferous and mixed forests in eastern North America and western Canada and cypress swamps on the southern Atlantic coast, with preference for dense stands of conifers. These birds' nests are open cups, which are usually situated close to the trunk of a tree.

These birds migrate to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and southern Florida. One destination is to the Petenes mangroves of the Yucatán. Some birds straggle as far as South America, with the southernmost couple of records coming from Ecuador.

Hybridization

The black-throated green warbler has been reported to hybridize with the congeneric Townsend's warbler where their range overlaps in the Rocky Mountains.

Behavior

Black-throated green warblers forage actively in vegetation, and they sometimes hover (gleaning), or catch insects in flight (hawking). Insects are the main constituents of these birds' diets, although berries will occasionally be consumed.

The song of this bird is a buzzed ' or '. The call is a sharp '.

This bird is vulnerable to nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird.

References

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Further reading

Books

  • Morse, D. H. and A. F. Poole (2005). Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North American Online database.

Reports

  • Cooper JM, Enns KA and Shepard MG. (1997). Status of the black-throated green warbler in British Columbia. Canadian Research Index. p. n/a.
  • Norton MR. (1999). Status of the black-throated green warbler, Dendroica virens, in Alberta. Canadian Research Index. p. n/a.

Thesis

  • Chmielewski A. M.S. (1992). The effects of right-of-way construction through forest interior habitat on bird and small mammal populations and rates of nest predation. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, United States, New York.
  • Clarke M. M.Sc. (2005). Avian abundance and habitat relationships in a managed forest landscape in eastern Nova Scotia. Dalhousie University (Canada), Canada.
  • Collins SL. Ph.D. (1981). HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS AND HABITAT VARIABILITY OF THE WOOD WARBLERS (PARULIDAE). The University of Oklahoma, United States, Oklahoma.
  • Drolet B. M.Sc. (1997). Variation des assemblages d'oiseaux chanteurs selon la structure du paysage de la sapiniere boreale exploitee. Universite Laval (Canada), Canada.
  • Elliott CA. Ph.D. (1987). Songbird species diversity and habitat use in relation to vegetation structure and size of forest stands and forest-clearcut edges in north-central Maine. The University of Maine, United States, Maine.
  • Hamady MA. Ph.D. (2000). An ecosystem approach to assessing the effects of forest heterogeneity and disturbance on birds of the northern hardwood forest in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Michigan State University, United States, Michigan.
  • Hannah TA. M.Sc. (2006). Declines in the black-throated green warbler (Dendroica virens): From pattern to process. University of Alberta (Canada), Canada.
  • McKinley PS. Ph.D. (2004). Tree species selection and use by foraging insectivorous passerines in a forest landscape. University of New Brunswick (Canada), Canada.
  • Rail J-F. M.Sc. (1995). Definir la fragmentation de l'habitat des passereaux par l'effet de barriere des discontinuites de l'habitat d'origine humaine. Universite Laval (Canada), Canada.
  • Roloff GJ. Ph.D. (1994). Using an ecological classification system and wildlife habitat models in forest planning. Michigan State University, United States, Michigan.
  • Whelan CJ. Ph.D. (1987). Effects of foliage structure on the foraging behavior of insectivorous forest birds. Dartmouth College, United States, New Hampshire.

Articles

  • Adams DA and Hammond JS. (1991). Changes in Forest Vegetation Bird and Small Mammal Populations at Mount Mitchell North Carolina USA 1959-62 and 1985. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society. vol 107, no 1. pp.&nbsp;3–12.
  • Bermingham E, Rohwer S, Freeman S and Wood C. (1992). Vicariance Biogeography in the Pleistocene and Speciation in North American Wood Warblers a Test of Mengel's Model. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. vol 89, no 14. pp.&nbsp;6624–6628.
  • Betts MG, Hadley AS and Doran PJ. (2005). Avian mobbing response is restricted by territory boundaries: Experimental evidence from two species of forest warblers. Ethology. vol 111, no 9. pp.&nbsp;821–835.
  • Caroline G, Marcel D, Jean-Pierre LS and Jean H. (2004). Are temperate mixedwood forests perceived by birds as a distinct forest type?. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. vol 34, no 9. p. 1895.
  • Collins SL. (1983). Geographic Variation in Habitat Structure for the Wood Warblers in Maine and Minnesota USA. Oecologia. vol 59, no 2-3. pp.&nbsp;246–252.
  • Collins SL. (1983). Geographic Variation in Habitat Structure of the Black-Throated Green Warbler Dendroica-Virens. Auk. vol 100, no 2. pp.&nbsp;382–389.
  • Darveau M, Beauchesne P, Belanger L, Huot J & Larue P. (1995). Riparian forest strips as habitat for breeding birds in boreal forest. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 59, no 1. pp.&nbsp;67–78.
  • Desgranges JL and Rondeau G. (1995). CHANGES IN THE BIRD COMMUNITIES OF A BALSAM FIR WHITE BIRCH FOREST FOLLOWING AN INSECT PEST EPIDEMIC. For Chron. vol 71, no 2. pp.&nbsp;201–210.
  • Doyon F, Gagnon D and Giroux J-F. (2005). Effects of strip and single-tree selection cutting on birds and their habitat in a Southwestern Quebec northern hardwood forest. Forest Ecology and Management. vol 209, no 1-2. pp.&nbsp;101–115.
  • Greenberg R, Gonzales CE, Bichier P & Reitsma R. (2001). Nonbreeding habitat selection and foraging behavior of the Black-throated Green Warbler complex in Southeastern Mexico. Condor. vol 103, no 1. pp.&nbsp;31–37.
  • Hanowski J, Danz N, Lind J and Niemi G. (2003). Breeding bird response to riparian forest harvest and harvest equipment. Forest Ecology & Management. vol 174, no 1-3. pp.&nbsp;315–328.
  • Hanowski JM, Niemi GJ and Blake JG. (1990). Statistical Perspectives and Experimental Design When Counting Birds on Line Transects. Condor. vol 92, no 2. pp.&nbsp;326–335.
  • Heckscher CM. (2000). Forest-dependent birds of the Great Cypress (North Pocomoke) Swamp: Species composition and implications for conservation. Northeastern Naturalist. vol 7, no 2. pp.&nbsp;113–130.
  • Hobson KA and Bayne E. (2000). Breeding bird communities in boreal forest of western Canada: Consequences of "unmixing" the mixedwoods. Condor. vol 102, no 4. pp.&nbsp;759–769.
  • Hobson KA and Bayne E. (2000). Effects of forest fragmentation by agriculture on avian communities in the southern boreal mixedwoods of western Canada. Wilson Bulletin. vol 112, no 3. pp.&nbsp;373–387.
  • Holmes RT and Robinson SK. (1981). Tree Species Preferences of Foraging Insectivorous Birds in a Northern Hardwoods Forest. Oecologia. vol 48, no 1. pp.&nbsp;31–35.
  • Holmes RT and Sherry TW. (2001). Thirty-year bird population trends in an unfragmented temperate deciduous forest: Importance of habitat change. Auk. vol 118, no 3. pp.&nbsp;589–609.
  • Jim S and Keith AH. (2000). Bird communities associated with live residual tree patches within cut blocks and burned habitat in mixedwood boreal forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. vol 30, no 8. p. 1281.
  • Kirk DA, Diamond AW, Smith AR, Holland GE and Chytyk P. (1997). Population changes in boreal forest birds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Wilson Bulletin. vol 109, no 1. pp.&nbsp;1–27.
  • Lacki MJ and Baker MD. (1998). Observations of forest-interior bird communities in older-growth forests in eastern Kentucky. Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Sciences. vol 59, no 2. pp.&nbsp;174–177.
  • Laurent EJ, Shi HJ, Gatziolis D, LeBouton JP, Walters MB and Liu JG. (2005). Using the spatial and spectral precision of satellite imagery to predict wildlife occurrence patterns. Remote Sensing of Environment. vol 97, no 2. pp.&nbsp;249–262.
  • Lopez Ornat A and Greenberg R. (1990). Sexual Segregation by Habitat in Migratory Warblers in Quintana Roo Mexico. Auk. vol 107, no 3. pp.&nbsp;539–543.
  • Martin PR, Fotheringham JR and Robertson RJ. (1995). A Prairie Warbler with a conspecific and heterospecific song repertoire. The Auk. vol 112, no 3. p. 770.
  • Maurer BA and Whitmore RC. (1981). Foraging of 5 Bird Species in 2 Forests with Different Vegetation Structure. Wilson Bulletin. vol 93, no 4. pp.&nbsp;478–490.
  • Meiklejohn BA and Hughes JW. (1999). Bird communities in riparian buffer strips of industrial forests. American Midland Naturalist. vol 141, no 1. pp.&nbsp;172–184.
  • Merrill SB, Cuthbert FJ and Oehlert G. (1998). Residual patches and their contribution to forest-bird diversity on northern Minnesota aspen clearcuts. Conservation Biology. vol 12, no 1. pp.&nbsp;190–199.
  • Michael AP and Jutta CB. (1998). Spruce budworm outbreaks and the incidence of vagrancy in eastern North American wood-warblers. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 76, no 3. p. 433.
  • Mitchell JM. (1999). Habitat relationships of five northern bird species breeding in hemlock ravines in Ohio, USA. Natural Areas Journal. vol 19, no 1. pp.&nbsp;3–11.
  • Morgan K and Freedman B. (1985). Breeding Bird Communities in a Hardwood Forest Succession in Nova Scotia Canada. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 100, no 4. pp.&nbsp;506–519.
  • Morse DH. (1977). The Occupation of Small Islands by Passerine Birds. Condor. vol 79, no 4. pp.&nbsp;399–412.
  • Morse DH. (1991). Song Types of Black-Throated Green Warblers on Migration. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 103, no 1. p. 93.
  • Parrish JD. (1995). Effects of needle architecture on warbler habitat selection in a coastal spruce forest. Ecology. vol 76, no 6. pp.&nbsp;1813–1820.
  • Parrish JD. (1995). Experimental evidence for intrinsic microhabitat preferences in the black-throated green warbler. Condor. vol 97, no 4. pp.&nbsp;935–943.
  • Perry EF and Andersen DE. (2003). Advantages of clustered nesting for Least Flycatchers in north-central Minnesota. Condor. vol 105, no 4. pp.&nbsp;756–770.
  • Rabenold KN. (1978). Foraging Strategies Diversity and Seasonality in Bird Communities of Appalachian Spruce Fir Forests. Ecological Monographs. vol 48, no 4. pp.&nbsp;397–424.
  • Rail J-F, Darveau M, Desrochers A and Huot J. (1997). Territorial responses of boreal forest birds to habitat gaps. Condor. vol 99, no 4. pp.&nbsp;976–980.
  • Rappole JH, King DI and Barrow WC Jr. (1999). Winter ecology of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Condor. vol 101, no 4. pp.&nbsp;762–770.
  • Rising JD. (1988). Phenetic Relationships among the Warblers in the Dendroica-Virens Complex and a Record of Dendroica-Virens from Sonora Mexico. Wilson Bulletin. vol 100, no 2. pp.&nbsp;312–316.
  • Robichaud I and Villard M-A. (1999). Do Black-throated Green Warblers prefer conifers? Meso- and microhabitat use in a mixedwood forest. Condor. vol 101, no 2. pp.&nbsp;262–271.
  • Robinson SK and Holmes RT. (1982). Foraging Behavior of Forest Birds the Relationships among Search Tactics Diet and Habitat Structure. Ecology. vol 63, no 6. pp.&nbsp;1918–1931.
  • Rodewald PG and Brittingham MC. (2002). Habitat use and behavior of mixed species landbird flocks during fall migration. Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 1. pp.&nbsp;87–98.
  • Ross RM, Redell LA, Bennett RM and Young JA. (2004). Mesohabitat use of threatened hemlock forests by breeding birds of the Delaware River basin in northeastern United States. Natural Areas Journal. vol 24, no 4. pp.&nbsp;307–315.
  • Schulte LA, Pidgeon AM and Mladenoff DJ. (2005). One hundred fifty years of change in forest bird breeding habitat: Estimates of species distributions. Conservation Biology. vol 19, no 6. pp.&nbsp;1944–1956.
  • Schulte LS and Niemi GJ. (1998). Bird communities of early-successional burned and logged forest. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 62, no 4. pp.&nbsp;1418–1429.
  • Smith R and Dallman M. (1996). Forest gap use by breeding black-throated green warblers. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 108, no 3. p. 588.
  • Smith R, Hamas M, Dallman M and Ewert D. (1998). Spatial variation in foraging of the Black-throated Green warbler along the shoreline of northern Lake Huron. Condor. vol 100, no 3. pp.&nbsp;474–484.
  • Smith RJ, Moore FR and May CA. (2007). Stopover habitat along the shoreline of northern Lake Huron, Michigan: Emergent aquatic insects as a food resource for spring migrating landbirds. Auk. vol 124, no 1. pp.&nbsp;107–121.
  • Stewart PA. (1986). Fall Migration of Twelve Species of Wood Warblers through Coastal Virginia USA. North American Bird Bander. vol 11, no 3. pp.&nbsp;83–88.
  • Tingley MW, Orwig DA, Field R and Motzkin G. (2002). Avian response to removal of a forest dominant: Consequences of hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. Journal of Biogeography. vol 29, no 10-11. pp.&nbsp;1505–1516.
  • Venier LA and Pearce JL. (2005). Boreal bird community response to jack pine forest succession. Forest Ecology & Management. vol 217, no 1. pp.&nbsp;19–36.
  • Whelan CJ. (1989). Avian foliage structure preferences for foraging and the effect of prey biomass. Animal Behaviour. vol 38, no 5. p. 839.
  • Whelan CJ. (2001). Foliage structure influences foraging of insectivorous forest birds: An experimental study. Ecology. vol 82, no 1. pp.&nbsp;219–231.

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  • Black-throated green warbler - Dendroica virens - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
  • Black-throated green warbler species account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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