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Cape May Warbler

Dendroica tigrinaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Cape May Warbler Portrait
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General

Cape May Warbler: Small warbler with olive-yellow upperparts and thick, black streaks on yellow underparts. Face is bright yellow with chestnut-brown ear patch. Wings are dark with large white patches. Female and juvenile are less yellow overall and do not have bright yellow face, chestnut-brown ear patch, or white wing patches.

Range and Habitat

Cape May Warbler: Breeds from southern Mackenzie, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec south to North Dakota, Michigan, northern New York, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Spends winters in southern Florida and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include open spruce forests, but during migration also found in evergreen or deciduous woodlands, and often parks or suburban yards.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"seet seet seet seet"

Interesting Facts

 The Cape May Warbler's Latin name, tigrina, reflects the tiger striped appearance of the adult male.

 Use of certain combinations of insecticides to control spruce budworms, its preferred food, causes steep declines in its numbers.

 The tongue is unique among warblers. It is curled and semitubular, and is used to collect nectar during winter.

 A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Cape May Warbler
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Wood Warbler (Parulidae)_blue
Species Dendroica tigrina
Length4.75 Inches
Wingspan7 Inches

Cape May Warbler

Cape May Warbler: Small warbler, olive-yellow upperparts, thick, black streaks on yellow underparts. Bright yellow face, chestnut-brown ear patch, black crown. Wings are dark with large white patches. First collected in Cape May, New Jersey in 1811 and not seen again in that area for over 100 years.

● Song: "seet seet seet seet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Cape May Warbler: Diet consists mostly of caterpillars, spruce budworms, ants, flies, small bees, spiders, and crickets; also drinks juices of grapes by poking a hole in the grape with bills. Sometimes catches insects on the wing.

● Breeding & nesting: Cape May Warbler: Six to nine gray or brown spotted, creamy white eggs are laid in a bulky, compact, twig-and-moss nest lined with grass, fur, and feathers. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Cape May Warbler: Yellow-rumped Warbler has more blurry streaks on breast, brighter yellow rump, and thicker bill. Palm Warbler has yellow undertail coverts and consistently wags tail.

Flight Pattern

Weak fluttering flights of short duration.
Cape May Warbler Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Cape May Warbler: Breeds from southern Mackenzie, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec south to North Dakota, Michigan, northern New York, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Spends winters in southern Florida and the West Indies. Preferred habitats include open spruce forests, but during migration also found in evergreen or deciduous woodlands, and often parks or suburban yards.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationYes but uncommon
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.4 Ounces