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KINGDOM : Animalia
PHYLUM : Chordata
CLASS : Aves
ORDER : Passeriformes
FAMILY :Parulidae
GENUS :Setophaga
SPECIES :Setophaga pensylvanica
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
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Description This species is a moderately-sized New World warbler. Despite having very different plumage, it is thought to be closely related to the widespread yellow warbler. In total, this species measures from 10 to 14 cm in length and spans 16 to 21 cm across the wings. Body weight ranges from 8 to 13.1 g . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 5.7 to 6.8 cm , the tail is 4.2 to 5.8 cm, the bill is 0.9 to 1 cm and the tarsus is 1.7 to 1.9 cm. In the summer, male chestnut-sided warblers are unmistakable in appearance. They display dark-streaked gray backs, white faces, black eyestripes and greenish crowns. Their underparts are white, with chestnut flanks, and they also have two white wing bars. The adult females resemble washed-out versions of the summer male, and in particular, the females lack the strong head pattern, and also have little to no chestnut coloring on their flanks. Non-breeding birds of both sexes have greenish heads, and greenish upperparts which are usually unstreaked. They also have unstreaked pale grey breasts. Their wing bars are always present in their plumages. Their lack of streaking and greenish backs helps to distinguish this species from the larger blackpoll warbler in the fall. Breeding and habitat The chestnut-sided warbler has benefited from the clearing of mature forests. They make use of the abundant second growth habitats. In the tropics where they winter however, the species occurs mostly in mature tropical rainforests. Their cup-shaped nests are placed in a low bush, which is usually located in young deciduous woodland or scrub. These birds lay 3-5 eggs that are creamy white or greenish with brown speckles in color. The nest is a small cup woven of bark strips, weed stems, grasses, and plant down. The nest is usually placed in a small crotch of a shrub or vertical tangle of vines no more than 2 m above the ground. This species is frequently parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds. Migration range These birds are migratory, wintering in Central America south to northern Colombia, with an unconfirmed sighting from as far south as Ecuador; they are also very rare vagrants to western Europe. They arrive in their breeding range in May and depart by mid-September. Population This bird's numbers have increased as second growth forest became more common in the east in the late 19th century; their numbers have declined slightly since then. Food Chestnut-sided warblers are primarily insectivorous. They forage actively in shrubs and small trees, and sometimes will attempt to catch insects in mid-air. Most foraging consists of gleaning insects from foliage. They will include berries in their winter diets, such as those of Cymbopetalum mayanum; such trees can be used to attract wintering birds into gardens and parks.
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