Blackpoll Warbler
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Common Name:Blackpoll Warbler
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Parulidae
Genus:Setophaga
Species:Setophaga
striata
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Photo: M. Noonan |
TAXONOMY
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
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, white underparts with
black streaks on sides and back. They have two white
wings bars and white spots that are visible under their
tail. Female Blackpolls look
similar in body plumage to males, but lack the
distinctive head pattern.
Photo: M. Noonan
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 most of which occurs without stop over the
ocean during fall migration. 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
Blackpoll Warblers have a
prolonged courtship for most Warblers where the male
will feed the female nuptial gifts to show he is able to
find food for their future brood. They have a
monogamous mating system, though can be occasionally polygynous which means that
sometimes 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.
