Adelaide's Warbler
Encyclopedia
Adelaide's Warbler is a bird
endemic
to the archipelago
of Puerto Rico
belonging to the Dendroica genus of the Parulidae family. The species is named after Adelaide Swift, daughter of Robert Swift, the person who captured the first specimen.
, Puerto Rico and St. Lucia. Each of these populations were regarded as a subspecies, D.a. subita, D.a. adelaidae and D.a. delicata respectively. These subspecies were later elevated to species rank as the Barbuda Warbler
(Dendroica subita), the St. Lucia Warbler (Dendroica delicata) and Adelaide's Warbler.
Adelaide's Warbler has gray upperparts with yellow underparts. The species has a yellow line above the eye and a white half-moon below it. Its average length is 12 cm and its average weight is 7 g.
Adelaide's Warbler occurs in the main island of Puerto Rico and in the island municipality of Vieques
. The species occurs mainly in dry forests
in the southern region of Puerto Rico such as the Guánica State Forest
, with some occurrences in the northern moist forests
and the central mountain range, Cordillera Central.
Adelaide's Warbler is an insectivore
which gleans
insects from the mid-top areas of the forest. It is also known to eat, although very rarely, spider
s and small amphibian
s such as coquí
s. The species usually travels in mixed flocks
which commonly include Puerto Rican Todies
, Vireo
s and other New World Warbler
s. Adelaide's Warblers build nests at heights of 1 to 7 m in which the female deposits anywhere from 2 to 4 white eggs. The eggs usually contain small brown spots.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
belonging to the Dendroica genus of the Parulidae family. The species is named after Adelaide Swift, daughter of Robert Swift, the person who captured the first specimen.
Description
Dendroica adelaidae was originally considered a single species, D. adelaidae, with three populations occurring in BarbudaBarbuda
Barbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...
, Puerto Rico and St. Lucia. Each of these populations were regarded as a subspecies, D.a. subita, D.a. adelaidae and D.a. delicata respectively. These subspecies were later elevated to species rank as the Barbuda Warbler
Barbuda Warbler
The Barbuda Warbler is a species of bird in the Parulidae family. It is endemic to the island of Barbuda in Antigua and Barbuda. Its natural habitat is tropical dry shrubland near wetland areas. It is threatened by habitat loss....
(Dendroica subita), the St. Lucia Warbler (Dendroica delicata) and Adelaide's Warbler.
Adelaide's Warbler has gray upperparts with yellow underparts. The species has a yellow line above the eye and a white half-moon below it. Its average length is 12 cm and its average weight is 7 g.
Adelaide's Warbler occurs in the main island of Puerto Rico and in the island municipality of Vieques
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
. The species occurs mainly in dry forests
Puerto Rican dry forests
The Puerto Rican dry forests are a subtropical dry forest ecoregion located in southwestern and eastern Puerto Rico and on the offshore islands. They cover an area of . These forests grow in areas receiving less than of rain annually...
in the southern region of Puerto Rico such as the Guánica State Forest
Guánica State Forest
The Guánica State Forest is a subtropical dry forest located in southwest Puerto Rico. The area was designated as a forest reserve in 1919 and a United Nations Biosphere Reserve in 1981...
, with some occurrences in the northern moist forests
Puerto Rican moist forests
The Puerto Rican moist forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion on the archipelago of Puerto Rico. They cover an area of .-Lowland forests:Lowland forests are found throughout the island's coastal lowlands except for the dry southwest...
and the central mountain range, Cordillera Central.
Adelaide's Warbler is an insectivore
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
which gleans
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
insects from the mid-top areas of the forest. It is also known to eat, although very rarely, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and small amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s such as coquí
Coquí
The Common Coquí or Coquí is a frog native to Puerto Rico belonging to the Eleutherodactylus genus of the Leptodactylidae family. The species is named for the loud sound the males make at night. This sound serves two purposes...
s. The species usually travels in mixed flocks
Mixed-species feeding flock
A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species, that join each other and move together while foraging...
which commonly include Puerto Rican Todies
Puerto Rican Tody
The Puerto Rican Tody is a tody endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico. Despite is scientific name, Todus mexicanus, it is endemic to Puerto Rico...
, Vireo
Vireo
The vireos are a group of small to medium-sized passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are typically dull-plumaged and greenish in color, the smaller species resembling wood warblers apart from their heavier bills...
s and other New World Warbler
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
s. Adelaide's Warblers build nests at heights of 1 to 7 m in which the female deposits anywhere from 2 to 4 white eggs. The eggs usually contain small brown spots.
See also
- Fauna of Puerto RicoFauna of Puerto RicoThe fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats,...
- List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Rican birds
- List of Vieques birds
- El Toro WildernessEl Toro WildernessEl Toro Wilderness is a National Wilderness Preservation System located partly within El Yunque National Forest on the island of Puerto Rico...