BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER GALLERY
(Setophaga fusca)

Male Blackburnian Warblers are known for their flame-orange throats that seem to glow even through fog and rain. Triangular black cheek patch and oddly shaped white wing patch are also distinctive. Females and immatures are washed-out versions of males—look for yellowish throat and triangular dark cheek patch. Prefers coniferous or mixed forests, but can be found in any wooded habitat during migration. Winters in mountains of northern South America. Forages for insects, often near treetops.

I saw my first Blackburnian Warbler on the morning of May 15, 2020, at Warbler Pond in the Warbler Woods Sanctuary.  The bird I saw was a female or an immature bird, not the brightly colored and distinctive male.  I was able to identify it with the help of eBird and the Merlin App.  I hope someday to see a male, and, if I do, rest assured I will post pictures.  Below are two pictures that are the best I could do that day.  Stay tuned!

“Cool Facts” About the Blackburnian Warbler from All About Birds…

• No other North American warbler has an orange throat.
• Although the Blackburnian Warbler does not associate with other birds while it is nesting, it may bring its fledged young to forage in flocks of chickadees, kinglets, and nuthatches. The begging of the warbler chicks can even attract chickadees.
• In springtime, rival male Blackburnian Warblers perform remarkable territorial conflicts that recall an aerial ballet. They chase one another through and around the treetops, flying in loops, plummeting downward through the branches in a whirling pattern, gliding with tail raised and spread, or slowly flapping in exaggerated “moth flight,” as researchers call it. Once territories are established, the aerobatics die down.
• Blackburnian Warblers nest near many closely related species in the genus Setophaga, including Magnolia, Black-throated Green, and Yellow-rumped Warblers. During the breeding season, interspecies conflicts sometimes occur. Blackburnian Warblers are typically subordinate to these other species, although they are dominant to the much smaller Northern Parula.
• Tiny Blackburnian Warblers are strong fliers that travel between North and South America twice each year, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that they’re occasionally found very far off course. At times, “vagrants” have been recorded in Greenland, Iceland, Scotland, and the Azores off western Africa.
• The oldest recorded Blackburnian Warbler was a male, and at least 8 years, 2 months old, when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in Minnesota.