Species
Blackburnian warbler
Setophaga fusca
A warbler with a blazing orange throat, the 'firethroat' of northern conifers, passing through Georgia's treetops.
Photo Matt Felperin (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 11 to 13 cm long
- Weight
- About 8 to 13 g
- Habitat
- Conifers and tall trees
- Diet
- Insects
- In Georgia
- A migrant; a few nest in the high mountains
- Voice
- A very high, thin song
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Males with a flaming orange throat and face; black-and-white back
- Told apart from
- No other warbler has an orange throat like this
- Where to look
- Treetops during migration; high mountain hemlocks in summer
Behaviour
Blackburnian warblers forage high in conifers.
Why they matter
Blackburnian warblers depend on hemlock and other conifers in the southern Appalachians, many of which have been killed by the hemlock woolly adelgid, an introduced insect.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup high in a conifer
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 12 to 13 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- Protecting hemlocks from woolly adelgid helps them.
Misconceptions
- Bright birds are always tropical. The Blackburnian warbler nests in northern forests.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In the Andes | In the Andes | In the Andes | Migrating north | Nesting in the mountains and north | Nesting | Young fledging | Migrating | Migrants | Last migrants | In the Andes | In the Andes |
Where it lives
Recorded in 54 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabamapassing through
- Arkansaspassing through
- Connecticutbreeding
- Delawarepassing through
- District of Columbiapassing through
- Floridapassing through
- Georgiabreeding
- Illinoispassing through
- Indianapassing through
- Iowapassing through
- Kansaspassing through
- Kentuckypassing through
- Louisianapassing through
- Mainebreeding
- Marylandbreeding
- Massachusettsbreeding
- Michiganbreeding
- Minnesotabreeding
- Mississippipassing through
- Missouripassing through
- Nebraskapassing through
- New Hampshirebreeding
- New Jerseybreeding
- New Yorkbreeding
- North Carolinabreeding
- North Dakotapassing through
- Ohiopassing through
- Pennsylvaniabreeding
- Rhode Islandpassing through
- South Carolinapassing through
- South Dakotapassing through
- Tennesseepassing through
- Texaspassing through
- Vermontbreeding
- Virginiabreeding
- West Virginiabreeding
- Wisconsinbreeding
Canada
If you found one
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