Taxonomy/Description

Black-throated Blue Warblers are passerines in the Parulidae family which groups them together with other Wood Warblers. They are about 5.25 inches (13cm) in size. Males have white upperparts and blue upperparts. They also have a black face, throat and sides. They have a white patch at the base of their primaries.  Females have a gray crown and cheek patch with a white supercilium. They have grayish and yellowish underparts. These male and female Warblers differ more than any other  Wood Warbler that early naturalists identified them as two different species.

photo Michael Noonan

Habitat/Diet

Black-throated Blue Warblers live in undisturbed mixed and deciduous forests with thick undergrowth and rhododendron bogs. They breed in northeastern United States and southern Canada. They are as far south as the Appalachian Mountains. Black-throated Blue Warblers winter in the Greater Antilles. They are one of the most studied passerine species in North America. This is because it is one of the few migratory species that has been observed in both breeding and wintering sites. They can be found in Western New York in the summer.

Black-throated Blue Warblers eat fruit and insects about the ground while hovering. They eat mostly insects during the breeding season and will eat more plant material during the winter season.

Behavior/Reproduction

 Black-throated Blue Warblers are thought to be monogamous but it is not known how many broods they have per year. The female lays and incubates about 4 creamy colored eggs for 12-13 days. The young are altricial which means they are blind, helpless and immobile. Both parents tend to the young until the young are ready to fledge which is 12-13 days after hatching.

Where to see them in WNY

The Black-throated Blue Warbler is found in Forest Lawn, Tifft Nature Preserve, Iroquois NWR, and Allegany State Park during the migratory season and during the summer. They are mainly found in areas that have a lot of underbrush cover and they are mainly found in higher elevation forests.