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Lucy's Warbler

Vermivora luciaeOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Lucy's Warbler Portrait
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General

Lucy's Warbler: Small warbler with pale gray upperparts, rust-brown crown and rump, and white underparts. Eye ring is white. Wings are plain gray. Female is smaller and lacks brown cap.

Range and Habitat

Lucy's Warbler: Breeds in southwestern U.S., mainly in Arizona and New Mexico; also found in southern Nevada and California. Spends winters in Mexico. Inhabits shrubby and canyon areas in deserts and foothills.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chit chit chit chit sweeta che-che-che"

Interesting Facts

  • The Lucy's Warbler was first described in 1861 by James Graham Cooper, an American surgeon and naturalist. It is the smallest New World warbler found in North America.
  • It is the only warbler besides the Prothonotary to nest in cavities. If using a woodpecker hole, it may fill the cavity nearly to the top with debris and put the nest on top so it can see out.
  • It nests in some of the densest aggregations of any warbler, and in the highest density areas the close proximity of singing males makes censusing them nearly impossible because their songs overlap so much.
  • 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 Lucy's 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
Species Vermivora luciae
Length4.25 Inches
Wingspan7 Inches

Lucy's Warbler

Lucy's Warbler: Small warbler with pale gray upperparts, rust-brown crown and rump, white underparts. Eye ring is white. Wings are solid gray. Bill, legs and feet are black. It was named for Lucy Hunter Baird, daughter of Spencer F. Baird, ornithologist and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

● Song: "chit chit chit chit sweeta che-che-che"

● Foraging & Feeding: Lucy's Warbler: Feeds mostly on caterpillars, beetles, and leafhoppers; forages in foliage of trees and shrubbery.

● Breeding & nesting: Lucy's Warbler: Three to seven white eggs with brown flecks at large end are laid in a natural tree cavity lined with hair, fur, and fine bark chips; may use an old woodpecker hole. Incubation ranges from 10 to 12 days and is carried out by both parents.

● Similar species: Lucy's Warbler: Virginia's and Orange-crowned warblers have yellow undertail coverts. Bell's Vireo is larger, has a heavier bill, and lacks rust-brown uppertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

Weak flight on rapidly beating wings.
Lucy's Warbler Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Lucy's Warbler: Breeds in southwestern U.S., mainly in Arizona and New Mexico; also found in southern Nevada and California. Spends winters in Mexico. Inhabits shrubby and canyon areas in deserts and foothills.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationFairly common
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.2 Ounces