Blackpoll Warbler

Overview

Blackpoll Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with black-streaked, gray upperparts, white underparts, and black-streaked white sides. Head has black cap and prominent white cheek patch. Bill is black. Wings are dark with two white bars. Pink legs and feet. Swift, direct flight with rapidly beating wings.

Range and Habitat

Blackpoll Warbler: Breeds from Alaska and northern Canada to southern Canada and northern New England. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred breeding habitat is coniferous forests; during migration found chiefly in tall trees.

INTERESTING FACTS

Part of their fall migratory route is over the Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern United States to Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antilles, or northern South America. This route averages 1,864 miles over water, requiring a potentially nonstop flight of up to 88 hours.
The song of the male Blackpoll Warbler is one of the highest-pitched of all birds.
To accomplish this flight, they nearly double their body mass and take advantage of a shift in prevailing wind direction.
A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

The Blackpoll Warbler finds its natural habitat in coniferous woodlands, especially those including spruce trees. They breed throughout North America in Alaska, Canada, the Great Lakes and New England. In winter months, the Blackpoll Warbler migrates long distances to northwest South America, and rarely western Europe. This species is, however, known to make more frequent transatlantic flights versus other migratory birds. Nests are built in low sites of conifers. This species forages for food such as insects and berries high in the trees, and will sometimes catch insects in-flight. Currently, the conservation status for the Blackpoll Warbler is Least Concern.