Taxonomy
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Setophaga
Species: S.cerulea
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Setophaga
Species: S.cerulea
Appearance: Males: cerulean blue, faintly streaked upper-parts and a white underside. They have a narrow black band that runs horizontally across their throat, separating the white throat and belly. Blue streaking down sides of breast; males have streaked backs in all plumages and a black stripe that runs into the eye. Females: blueish green upper-parts that lack streaks. Yellow wash on face and breast. White or yellowish line over eye. Dusky/pale streaks down sides of breast.
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Habitat: cerulean warblers breed in mature forests with tall deciduous trees and open understory, often near stream bottoms and along river and lake shores. They are also sometimes found in mature forests along dry slopes and ridges. On their southern wintering grounds, cerulean warblers reside in broad-leaved, evergreen forests.
Range: cerulean warblers breed north from southwestern Quebec and southern Ontario west to Minnesota and Nebraska and south from eastern Kansas to South Carolina. After the breeding season, they migrate south to their wintering grounds, with departure dates varying across their range. Typical departure dates for cerulean warblers range from August-October, with some departures occurring as early as late July. Cerulean warblers migrate to and winter in northern South America. This includes the east and west slopes of the Andes in Columbia and the east slopes of Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and northern Bolivia.
Feeding: cerulean warblers are primarily insectivores, meaning they eat insects. Popular food items include Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies and their larvae) and Homopterans (sucking insects). They forage by moving along higher tree branches and preening leaves for insects; they typically hop along twigs, examining upper and lower leaf surfaces as they move.
Feeding: cerulean warblers are primarily insectivores, meaning they eat insects. Popular food items include Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies and their larvae) and Homopterans (sucking insects). They forage by moving along higher tree branches and preening leaves for insects; they typically hop along twigs, examining upper and lower leaf surfaces as they move.
Breeding Information
Nests are usually placed on a lateral limb of a deciduous tree in mid or high-story canopy, concealed from above by clumps of live tree leaves. Nest height ranges from 5-20m off the ground. The female is responsible for building the nest, which can take anywhere from 3-7 days to complete. Nests are neat cup structures made from moss, lichen, bark fibre, grass stems, mammal hair, and even spider silk. The clutch size in cerulean warblers ranges from 2-5, with 3-4 being average. The eggs are grey or creamy white and speckled or spotted with bay, chestnut, or auburn. The incubation period lasts for 10-12 days and is carried out solely by the female. Hatched chicks stay in the nest for an additional 10-12 days and are cared for by both parents. Males and females bring food to the nest, with males doing so more frequently earlier on when the female must spend more time incubating the newborn chicks. |
Vocalizations: three part song that can be described as a marble in a cone. Buzzy, ends in a high pitched trill. "ZEE ZEE ZEE ZIZIZIZIZI ZEEEET!". Only males sing, and they do so to attract mates and defend their territories from neighbouring males.
The video to the right shows a male cerulean warbler singing in the tree tops and provides an excellent demonstration of this species distinctive song. For more information about Cerulean Warbler natural history, be sure to check out their page on The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website here. |
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