Cape May Warbler

IDENTIFICATION: A bright yellow warbler with dark streaks on the breast and a yellow patch on the neck; a bright yellow rump is obvious in flight. The male also has bright, chestnut cheek patches. Females and immatures are duller olive green, but with a suggestion of the face pattern of the male. Length: 12 cm.; weight: 9-11 g.

VOICE: A high-pitched, sharp note is given often in winter. The song is a series of 5-6 high-pitched, upslurred notes rarely heard on the winter grounds.

HABITAT: Forages along edges of moist forest, and in dry scrub forest, shade coffee plantations, mangroves, and gardens---especially with flowering trees.

HABITS: Feeds in trees and shrubs by gleaning and occasionally hovering to catch insects and spiders. Like some other warblers, this species changes its diet dramatically in winter, adding fruit and nectar. It is the only warbler with a tubular tongue, adapted for sipping nectar. It will sometimes use artificial sugar water feeders. Individuals vigorously defend a regular nectar source such as Prosopis trees, from other Cape May Warblers, as well as other warbler species. Yet at times, this species will join mixed-species flocks. Individuals often return to the same feeding site in successive winters. On the breeding grounds in North America, it specializes on Spruce Budworms (Choristoneura fumiferana), and its population increases locally during the cyclical outbreaks of this caterpillar. The cup nest is placed 10-20 meters up in a coniferous tree. The female lays 6-7 eggs---a relatively large clutch for a warbler---which allows the species to take advantage of irregular caterpillar outbreaks.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: A common but irregular winter resident. Pesticide spraying to control Spruce Budworms on the breeding grounds in North America probably reduces food supplies for breeding birds.

RANGE: Breeds in boreal forests in the northern USA and Canada. Almost all Cape May Warblers winter in the Greater Antilles. A regular location to find this species is in the dry forest at the headquarters for Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge.

TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; PARULIDAE


Immature - Photo: B. Hallett


Breeding male - Photo: G. Dremeaux

References

Arendt, W.J. 1992. Status of North American migrant landbirds in the Caribbean region: a summary. Pp. 143-171 in Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds (J.M. Hagan III and D.W. Johnston, eds.) Smithsonian Instit. Press, Washington, D.C.

Baltz, E.M. and S.C. Latta. 1998. Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina). in The birds of North America, No. 332 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Bent, A.C. 1953. Life histories of North American wood warblers. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 203. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

Cruz, A. 1980. Avian feeding assemblages in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 15:21-27.

Curson, J., D. Quinn, and D. Beadle. 1994. Warblers of the Americas: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, NY.

Dunn, J. and K. Garrett. 1997. A field guide to warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin, NY.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birderÆs handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/ Fireside, NY.

Faaborg, J. and J.E.Winters. 1980. More returns from the Guánica forest, Puerto Rico. J Field Ornithol. 51(4):368.

Faaborg, J. and W.J. Arendt. 1984. Population sizes and philopatry of winter resident warblers in Puerto Rico. J Field Ornithol. 55(3):376-378.

Faaborg, J. and W.J. Arendt. 1992. Long-term declines of winter resident warblers in a Puerto Rican dry forest: which species are in trouble? Pp. 57-63 in Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds (J.M. Hagan III and D.W. Johnston, eds.) Smithsonian Instit. Press, Washington, D.C.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Saliva, J.E. 1994. Vieques y su fauna: Vieques wildlife manual. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Boquerón, PR.

Staicer, C.A. 1992. Social behavior of the Northern Parula, Cape May Warbler, and Prairie Warbler wintering in second growth forest in southwestern Puerto Rico. Pp. 308-320 in Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds (J.M. Hagan III and D.W. Johnston, eds.) Smithsonian Instit. Press, Washington, D.C.

Wunderle, J.M., Jr., and R.B. Waide. 1993. Distribution of overwintering nearctic migrants in the Bahamas and Greater Antilles. Condor 95:904-933.

Cape May Warbler, Spanish text

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