Taxonomy/Description

Blackpoll Warblers are passerines in the Parulidae family which groups them together with other Wood Warblers. Blackpolls are about 5.5 inches (14cm) in size. Blackpoll Warblers have white underparts with black streaks on sides and back. They have two white wings bars and white spots that are visible under their tail. Blackpoll Warblers are dichromatic which means that males and females do not look alike. Male Blackpolls have a black cap and white cheeks with a white face. Female Blackpolls look similar in body plumage to males, but lack the distinctive head pattern.

Habitat/Diet

Blackpoll Warblers are found across northern Canada in boreal black spruce forests during the breeding season. In western Canada they are found primarily in spruce-alder thickets along river environments. During the winter season Blackpolls can be found in northern South America east of the Andes. There, they primarily occupy second-growth areas.

Blackpoll Warblers are known for their long-distance migrations with a round-trip of 2,500 miles.  During the fall migration most of this journey is over water as they travel from eastern United States to South America. They are migrants in the Western New York region and can be seen in the fall and spring.

Blackpoll Warblers eat mostly insects and arthropods. They will eat some fruit material during their fall migration. They  forage from branches and pick insects and fruit off leaves and bark.

Behavior/Reproduction

Blackpoll Warblers have a prolonged courtship for most Warblers. They have a monogamous mating system, though can be occasionally polygynous which means that the male has more than one female partner at a time. They usually have one brood per year, but occasionally will have two. Females will build the cup nest against the trunk supported by horizontal branches. The female lays 4-5 eggs and incubates them for about 12 days. The exact incubation period is not known for this species. The young are altricial which means they are immobile, blind and helpless. Both parents will tend young until the young are ready to leave the nest which is 11-12 days after hatching.

Where to see them in WNY

Good places to see Blackpoll Warblers are Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge and Tift Nature Preserve.