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KINGDOM : Animalia
PHYLUM : Chordata
CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Passeriformes
FAMILY :Parulidae
GENUS :Setophaga
SPECIES :Setophaga Fusca
WARBLERS OF OHIO
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BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER Setophaga Fusca
The Blackburnian warbler has a fiery orange throat, broad white wing patch, and a triangular ear patch all quite vivid on adult males. Female and immature males have a more pale throat, and immature females even more pale. An orange or yellow forehead stripe is distinct in all males, less so in females.
The female lays 4 eggs, sometimes 3-5. White to greenish white, with blotches of reddish brown concentrated near the larger end. Only females incubate, probably 12-13 days. Male feeds female during incubation. Young: Both parents feed nestlings. When the young leave the nest, the parents separate, each caring for part of the brood.
The Blackburnian's summer breeding range spreads from New England and maritime Canada west through the Great Lakes to Saskatchewan and south along the Appalachians. In autumn they head south, often getting started in late August. By early October the majority of them have reached wintering grounds in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and the northwestern corner of Brazil.
Their diet consists of mostly insects, especially caterpillars. In summer, feeds on many caterpillars, particularly those of spruce budworm; also eats beetles, ants, flies, and many other insects, also spiders. Especially during winter, will take some berries as well.
Migrants are generally found in hardwood, softwood, and mixed forests, with additional sightings along coasts and lakeshores in scrub and bayberry. Breeding habitat varies widely. Generally it includes tall, mature trees conifers such as eastern hemlock, white spruce, red spruce, and balsam fir and deciduous species such as American beech, sugar maple, and yellow birch. When scanning for Blackburnians, set your sights high they generally stay in the higher branches. Blackburnian Warblers are creatures of the forest canopy and especially the treetops.
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