Swainson's warbler

Last updated

Swainson's warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii 4702971 (cropped).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Limnothlypis
Stone, 1914
Species:
L. swainsonii
Binomial name
Limnothlypis swainsonii
(Audubon, 1834)
Limnothlypis swainsonii map.svg
Range of L. swainsonii
  Breeding range
  Winter range
Synonyms [2]

Helinaia swainsoni
Helinaia swainsonii
Helmitheros swainsonii

Contents

Swainson's warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) is a small species of New World warbler. It is monotypic, the only member of the genus Limnothlypis. Swainson's warbler was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.

Description

South Padre Island - Texas Swainson's Warbler Tex.jpg
South Padre Island - Texas

Swainson's warblers are a small and rather nondescript songbird, though are fairly large for a New World warbler. Adults grow to 12.5–16 cm (4.9–6.3 in) in length and 11–20.5 g (0.39–0.72 oz) in weight. The wingspan averages 23 cm (9.1 in). [3] [4] They are a plain olive-brown above and pale yellow-white below. They have a whitish eyebrow stripe that runs above their eye, and the top of their head is a rusty brown. Unlike most other New World warblers that are mostly dimorphic, there is no difference in appearance between a male or female Swainson's warbler.

Distribution and habitat

Swainson's warblers are uncommon, mostly found in flooded swamplands and canebrakes of the south-eastern United States. More rarely, they will also occur in rhododendron thickets in the southern Appalachian Mountains. They are a migratory species, with part of the population migrating southeastwards to the Greater Antilles (where it overwinters in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica for example [5] ) and the other southwestwards to the Yucatán Peninsula region in winter.

Behavior

Breeding

This species begins breeding at about 10 months of age. [6] Pairs form, and stake out and defend a territory for nesting. Nests are fairly large and bulky, constructed from moss, grass, and small leaves situated above ground in a tangle of tall reeds or vines. The female will lay between three and five eggs. The eggs are white and sometimes, but rarely, speckled with brown. Incubation is done by the female only and lasts for about 14 days, after which the eggs will hatch. The young leave the nest about 12 days later. It is not known how long pairs stay together, although once a pair-bond has been established they do not usually mate with other birds at least in the current nesting season. These birds live to as old as eight years. [6]

Taxonomy

No subspecies are recognized. There appears to be some divergence between populations from Arkansas and others of the coastal plains. This does fit a pattern one would expect from genetic drift, but there seem to be no geographical or ecological barriers restricting gene flow. Even during the last ice age, when average temperatures, precipitation and sea levels were lower, there seems to have been ample contiguous habitat. Clearly, some factor restricting gene flow is at work, but it is not presently known what it is. It is possible that the subpopulations conform to the different wintering areas. [7]

In some migrant birds it is known that the initial direction of the migration is set by fairly simple hereditary mechanisms. Offspring of pairs comprising birds of different subpopulations will, in such species, attempt to migrate into an intermediate direction. Such a course would lead a Swainson's warbler deep into the Caribbean where there are no wintering or even stopover points, and the bird would almost certainly perish. More research such as analyzing bird banding data is needed to determine whether this mechanism applies in Swainson's warbler. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common chiffchaff</span> Small migratory passerine bird found in Europe, Asia and north Africa

The common chiffchaff, or simply the chiffchaff, is a common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds in open woodlands throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden warbler</span> A small migratory passerine bird

The garden warbler is a common and widespread small bird that breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to western Siberia. It is a plain, long-winged and long-tailed typical warbler with brown upperparts and dull white underparts; the sexes are similar and juveniles resemble the adults. Its two subspecies differ only slightly and interbreed where their ranges overlap. Due to its lack of distinguishing features, this species can be confused with a number of other unstreaked warblers. The garden warbler's rich melodic song is similar to that of the blackcap, its closest relative, which competes with it for territory when nesting in the same woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mountain bluebird</span> Species of bird

The mountain bluebird is a migratory small thrush that is found in mountainous districts of western North America. It has a light underbelly and black eyes. Adult males have thin bills and are bright turquoise-blue and somewhat lighter underneath. Adult females have duller blue wings and tail, grey breast, grey crown, throat and back. In fresh fall plumage, the female's throat and breast are tinged with red-orange which is brownish near the flank, contrasting with white tail underparts. Their call is a thin 'few' while their song is a warbled high 'chur chur'. The mountain bluebird is the state bird of Idaho and Nevada. This bird is an omnivore and it can live 6 to 10 years in the wild. It eats spiders, grasshoppers, flies and other insects, and small fruits. The mountain bluebird is a relative of the eastern and western bluebirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swainson's thrush</span> Species of bird

Swainson's thrush, also called olive-backed thrush and russet-backed thrush is a medium-sized thrush. It is a member of genus Catharus and is typical of it in terms of its subdued coloration and beautiful, ascending flute-like voice. Swainson's thrush was named after William Swainson, an English ornithologist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bicknell's thrush</span> Species of bird

Bicknell's thrush is a medium-sized thrush, at 17.5 cm (6.9 in) and 28 g (0.99 oz). One of North America's rarest and most localized songbirds, it breeds on coniferous mountain tops and disturbed habitats of northeastern North America. While very similar in appearance and vocalization to the gray-cheeked thrush, the two species, with two completely different breeding ranges, differ slightly in their morphology and vocalizations. It was named after Eugene Bicknell, an American amateur ornithologist, who made the first scientific discovery of the species on Slide Mountain in the Catskills in the late 19th century. John Burroughs, in his essay, "The Heart of the Southern Catskills" (1886), writes effusively about the voice of Bicknell's thrush heard near the summit on his climbs of Slide Mountain, and how on his stays on Slide saw them nowhere else but "about the summit", and saw no other thrush but Bicknell's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-crowned kinglet</span> Species of bird

The golden-crowned kinglet is a very small songbird in the family Regulidae that lives throughout much of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-headed vireo</span> Species of bird

The blue-headed vireo is a migrating song bird found in North and Central America. There are currently two recognized subspecies that belong to the blue-headed vireo. It has a range that extends across Canada and the eastern coast of the United-States, Mexico and some of Central America. It prefers large temperate forests with a mix of evergreen trees and deciduous under growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackburnian warbler</span> Species of bird

The Blackburnian warbler is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern waterthrush</span> Species of bird

The northern waterthrush is a species of ground-feeding migratory New World warbler of the genus Parkesia. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada and the northern United States including Alaska, and winters in Central America, the West Indies and Florida, as well as in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is a rare vagrant to other South American countries and to western Europe. Its closest relative is the Louisiana waterthrush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson's warbler</span> Species of bird

Wilson's warbler is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent in the female. It breeds across Canada and south through the western United States, and winters from Mexico south through much of Central America. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden-winged warbler</span> Species of bird

The golden-winged warbler is a New World warbler. It breeds in southeastern and south-central Canada and in the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern to north-central United States. The majority (~70%) of the global population breeds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Manitoba. Golden-winged warbler populations are slowly expanding northwards, but are generally declining across its range, most likely as a result of habitat loss and competition/interbreeding with the very closely related blue-winged warbler, Vermivora cyanoptera. Populations are now restricted to two regions: the Great Lakes and the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian population has declined 98% since the 1960s and is significantly imperiled. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been petitioned to list the species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and is currently reviewing all information after issuing a positive finding. Upon review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that the petition to list the species as endangered or threatened presents "substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the golden-winged warbler may be warranted."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grasshopper sparrow</span> Species of bird

The grasshopper sparrow is a small New World sparrow. It belongs to the genus Ammodramus, which contains three species that inhabit grasslands and prairies. Grasshopper sparrows are sometimes found in crop fields and they will readily colonize reclaimed grassland. In the core of their range, grasshopper sparrows are dependent upon large areas of grassland where they avoid trees and shrubs. They seek out heterogenous patches of prairie that contain clumps of dead grass or other vegetation where they conceal their nest, and also contain barer ground where they forage for insects, spiders, and seeds. Grasshopper sparrows are unusual among New World sparrows in that they sing two distinct song types, the prevalence of which varies with the nesting cycle. The primary male song, a high trill preceded by a stereotyped series of short chips, is reminiscent of the sounds of grasshoppers and is the origin of this species' name. Like some other birds of the central North American grasslands, this species also moves around a lot, not only via annual migrations, but individuals frequently disperse between breeding attempts or breeding seasons. Grasshopper sparrows are in steep decline across their range, even in the core of the breeding distribution in the tallgrass prairies of the central Great Plains. The Florida grasshopper sparrow is highly endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated blue warbler</span> Species of bird

The black-throated blue warbler is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family. Its breeding ranges are located in the interior of deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in eastern North America. Over the cooler months, it migrates to islands in the Caribbean and Central America. It is very rarely found in western Europe, where it is considered to be a non-indigenous species. The black-throated blue warbler is sexually dimorphic; the adult male has a black face and cheeks, deep blue upperparts and white underparts, while the adult female is olive-brown above and light yellow below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut warbler</span> Species of bird

The Connecticut warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prothonotary warbler</span> Species of bird

The prothonotary warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is named for its plumage which resembles the yellow robes once worn by papal clerks in the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Townsend's warbler</span> Species of bird

Townsend's warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-faced warbler</span> Species of bird

The red-faced warbler is a species of New World warbler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menetries's warbler</span> Species of bird

Menetries's warbler or Ménétries's warbler is a small passerine bird of Southwest Asia belonging to the genus Curruca. The name of the species commemorates Édouard Ménétries, the French zoologist who described the species in 1832. It is closely related to the Sardinian warbler of the Mediterranean basin and is similar to it in appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-browed tit-warbler</span> Songbird of the mountains of Tibet and China

The white-browed tit-warbler is a species of bird in the family Aegithalidae. The species was first described by Nikolai Severtzov in 1873. It is resident in the Tian Shan and central China as well as in the Himalayas where it is mainly found in winter. Its natural habitat is boreal forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swainson's hawk</span> Species of bird

Swainson's hawk is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond of Acrididae and will voraciously eat these insects whenever they are available.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2018). "Limnothlypis swainsonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22721776A132148361. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22721776A132148361.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "Limnothlypis swainsonii". Avibase.
  3. "Swainson's Warbler". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), ISBN   978-0849342585.
  5. Graves, G (1996). "CENSUSING WINTERING POPULATIONS OF SWAINSONS' WARBLERS: SURVEYS IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF JAMAICA" (PDF). Wilson Bulletin. 108: 94–103.
  6. 1 2 Graves in Winker et al.' 2000
  7. 1 2 Winker et al. 2000