Townsend's Warbler
Encyclopedia
The Townsend's Warbler, Dendroica townsendi, is a small songbird
of the New World warbler
family.
These birds have a yellow face with a black stripe across their cheeks, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, olive upperparts with black streaks on their backs and flanks, and a white belly. Adult males have a black cap, black throat and yellow lower breast; females have a dark cap and a yellow throat. Immature birds are similar to females with a dark green cap and cheeks.
. Their nests are shallow cups built with grass and lined with moss. These nests are usually placed atop a branch in a conifer. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs.
This bird is closely related to the Hermit Warbler
, and the two species interbreed where their ranges overlap.
Birds from the Queen Charlotte Islands
migrate
short distances further south on the Pacific coast. Other birds winter in Mexico
, Central America
, and the south-western United States
.
They forage actively in the higher branches, sometimes hovering or catching insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and spider
s and seeds. Outside of the nesting season, these birds forage in mixed flocks. In winter, they also eat berries and plant nectar.
The song of the male bird is a buzzed zee-zee-zee-bzz-zee, somewhat similar to that of its eastern relative, the Black-throated Green Warbler
. The call is a sharp tup.
This bird was named after the American
ornithologist, John Kirk Townsend
. Although Townsend is also credited with first describing this bird, he used a name chosen by Thomas Nuttall
, who was travelling with him, and so sidestepped the convention against naming a species after oneself.
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Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
of the 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....
family.
These birds have a yellow face with a black stripe across their cheeks, a thin pointed bill, white wing bars, olive upperparts with black streaks on their backs and flanks, and a white belly. Adult males have a black cap, black throat and yellow lower breast; females have a dark cap and a yellow throat. Immature birds are similar to females with a dark green cap and cheeks.
Life history
Their breeding habitats are coniferous forests with large trees on the northwestern coast of North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Their nests are shallow cups built with grass and lined with moss. These nests are usually placed atop a branch in a conifer. The female lays 4 to 5 eggs.
This bird is closely related to the Hermit Warbler
Hermit Warbler
The Hermit Warbler, Dendroica occidentalis, is a small perching bird. It is a species of New World warbler.Mature Hermit Warblers normally grow to be 4½ to 5 inches long. Hermit Warblers are dark gray in coloration on top, and white below, and their flanks are streaked with black. The wings...
, and the two species interbreed where their ranges overlap.
Birds from the Queen Charlotte Islands
Queen Charlotte Islands
Haida Gwaii , formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Haida Gwaii consists of two main islands: Graham Island in the north, and Moresby Island in the south, along with approximately 150 smaller islands with a total landmass of...
migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
short distances further south on the Pacific coast. Other birds winter in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and the south-western United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
They forage actively in the higher branches, sometimes hovering or catching insects in flight. They mainly eat insects and 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 seeds. Outside of the nesting season, these birds forage in mixed flocks. In winter, they also eat berries and plant nectar.
The song of the male bird is a buzzed zee-zee-zee-bzz-zee, somewhat similar to that of its eastern relative, the Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
The Black-throated Green Warbler, Setophaga virens, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.It is 12 cm long and weighs 9 g, and 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...
. The call is a sharp tup.
This bird was named after the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
ornithologist, John Kirk Townsend
John Kirk Townsend
John Kirk Townsend was an American naturalist, ornithologist and collector.Townsend was born in Philadelphia and trained as a physician and pharmacist. He developed an interest in natural history in general and bird collecting in particular...
. Although Townsend is also credited with first describing this bird, he used a name chosen by Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall
Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist, who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841....
, who was travelling with him, and so sidestepped the convention against naming a species after oneself.
Books
- Wright, A. L., G. D. Hayward, S. M. Matsouka, and P. H. Hayward. 1998. Townsend’s Warbler (Dendroica townsendi). In The Birds of North America, No. 333 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
Thesis
- Pearson SF. Ph.D. (1997). Behavioral and ecological tests of four models explaining narrow hybrid zones between hermit and Townsend's warblers. University of Washington, United States, Washington.
Articles
- Catherine ES & Sievert R. (2000). A phenotypic test of Haldane's rule in an avian hybrid zone. The Auk. vol 117, no 3. p. 578.
- Deviche P, Greiner EC & Manteca X. (2001). Interspecific variability of prevalence in blood parasites of adult passerine birds during the breeding season in Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. vol 37, no 1. p. 28-35.
- Greenberg R, Caballero CM & Bichier P. (1993). Defense of homopteran honeydew by birds in the Mexican highlands and other warm temperate forests. Oikos. vol 68, no 3. p. 519-524.
- Jackson WM, Wood CS & Rohwer S. (1992). Age-Specific Plumage Characters and Annual Molt Schedules of Hermit Warblers and Townsend's Warblers. The Condor. vol 94, no 2. p. 490.
- Kissling ML & Garton EO. (2006). Estimating detection probability and density from point-count surveys: A combination of distance and double-observer sampling. Auk. vol 123, no 3. p. 735-752.
- Mannan RW, Hale BS & Morrison ML. (1983). Observations of Nesting Townsends Warblers Dendroica-Townsendi in Northeastern Oregon USA. Murrelet. vol 64, no 1. p. 23-25.
- Mannan RW & Meslow EC. (1984). Bird Populations and Vegetation Characteristics in Managed and Old-Growth Forests Northeastern Oregon USA. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 48, no 4. p. 1219-1238.
- Manuwal DA. (1991). Spring Bird Communities in the Southern Washington Cascade Range USA. U S Forest Service General Technical Report PNW. vol 285, p. 161-175.
- Matsuoka SM, Handel CM & Roby DD. (1997). Nesting ecology of Townsend's Warblers in relation to habitat characteristics in a mature boreal forest. Condor. vol 99, no 2. p. 271-281.
- Matsuoka SM, Handel CM, Roby DD & Thomas DL. (1997). The relative importance of nesting and foraging sites in selection of breeding territories by Townsend's warblers. Auk. vol 114, no 4. p. 657-667.
- Mizrahi DS & Wagner SJ. (1996). Georgia's second state record for Townsend's warbler. Oriole. vol 61, no 4. p. 81-82.
- Morrison ML. (1983). Analysis of Geographic Variation in the Townsends Warbler Dendroica-Townsendi. Condor. vol 85, no 4. p. 385-391.
- Owen-Ashley NT & Butler LK. (2004). Androgens, interspecific competition and species replacement in hybridizing warblers. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B. p. 6) S498-S500, December 497, 2004.
- Pearson SF. (2000). Behavioral asymmetries in a moving hybrid zone. Behav Ecol. vol 11, no 1. p. 84-92.
- Pearson SF & Manuwal DA. (2000). Influence of niche overlap and territoriality on hybridization between Hermit Warblers and Townsend's Warblers. Auk. vol 117, no 1. p. 175-183.
- Pearson SF & Rohwer S. (2000). Asymmetries in male aggression across an avian hybrid zone. Behav Ecol. vol 11, no 1. p. 93-101.
- Rappole JH, King DI & Barrow WC, Jr. (1999). Winter ecology of the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Condor. vol 101, no 4. p. 762-770.
- Rohwer S. (1994). 2 NEW HYBRID DENDROICA WARBLERS AND NEW METHODOLOGY FOR INFERRING PARENTAL SPECIES. Auk. vol 111, no 2. p. 441-449.
- Rohwer S. (1994). Two new hybrid Dendroica warblers and new methodology for inferring parental species. Auk. vol 111, no 2. p. 441-449.
- Rohwer S. (2004). Using age ratios to infer survival and despotic breeding dispersal in hybridizing Warblers. Ecology. vol 85, no 2. p. 423-431.
- Rohwer S, Bermingham E & Wood C. (2001). Plumage and mitochondrial DNA haplotype variation across a moving hybrid zone. Evolution. vol 55, no 2. p. 405-422.
- Rohwer S, Wood C & Bermingham E. (2000). A new hybrid warbler (Dendroica nigrescens x D-occidentalis) and diagnosis of similar D-townsendi x D-occidentalis recombinants. Condor. vol 102, no 3. p. 713-718.
- Sallabanks R, Haufler JB & Mehl CA. (2006). Influence of forest vegetation structure on avian community composition in west-central Idaho. Wildl Soc Bull. vol 34, no 4. p. 1079-1093.
- Scott FP & Sievert R. (1998). Influence of breeding phenology and clutch size on hybridization between Hermit and Townsend's Warblers. The Auk. vol 115, no 3. p. 739.
- Sievert R & Christopher W. (1998). Three hybrid zones between Hermit and Townsend's warblers in Washington and Oregon. The Auk. vol 115, no 2. p. 284.
- Thompson LC. (1993). First Georgia record of a Townsend's Warbler. Oriole. vol 58, no 1-4. p. 1-3.
- Tiedemann AR & Woodard PM. (2002). Multiresource effects of a stand-replacement prescribed fire in the Pinus contorta-Abies lasiocarpa vegetation zone of Central Washington. U S Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station General Technical Report PNW GTR. vol 535, p. 1-26.
- Vidal RM, Macias-Caballero C & Duncan CD. (1994). The occurrence and ecology of the Golden-cheeked Warbler in the highlands of Northern Chiapas, Mexico. Condor. vol 96, no 3. p. 684-691.
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External links
- Townsend's Warbler videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Townsend's Warbler Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Townsend's Warbler - Dendroica townsendi - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
- Townsend's Warbler Information - South Dakota Birds and Birding
- Townsend's Warbler photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res--(Close-up)