Prairie Warbler
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| Dendroica discolor (Vieillot, 1809) |
The Prairie Warbler, Dendroica discolor, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks and olive upperparts with rusty streaks on the back; they have a yellow line above the eye, a dark line through the eye and a yellow spot below the eye. They have black legs, a long tail, pale wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Colouring is duller in female and immatures.
Their breeding habitat is brushy areas and forest edges in eastern North America. The nest is an open cup usually placed low in a tree or shrub.
These birds are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range. Other birds migrate to northeastern Mexico and islands in the Caribbean.
They forage actively on tree branches, sometimes flying to catch insects. These birds mainly eat insects.
Prairie Warblers have two categories of songs, referred to as Type A and Type B. Type A songs are typically a series of ascending buzzy notes. The B songs are an ascending series of whistled notes that often contain some buzzy notes. Compared to A songs, the B songs are lower in pitch, have fewer notes, the notes are longer, and the total song length is longer. The use of these two song categories is associated with certain contexts. A songs are sung throughout the day when males first arrive on their breeding grounds. Once males are paired they begin to sing B songs during the dawn chorus and then will intersperse A songs in their singing during the rest of the day. During this later period of singing A songs are typically used near females, near the nest, and in the center of their territories. In contrast B songs are used when interacting or fighting with other males and near the borders of their territories.
Part of their call note repertoire is a wet tsip call. During the dawn chorus B songs are interspersed with rapid loud "check" calls.
These birds wag their tail frequently. The numbers of this bird are declining due to habitat loss; this species also suffers from nest parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Dendroica discolor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 05 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
