Lucy's Warbler

Overview

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.

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.

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.

The Lucy's Warbler has a large range, estimated globally at 390,000 square kilometers. Native to Mexico and the United States, this bird prefers subtropical or tropical shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 1,200,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of Lucy's Warbler is Least Concern.