- Leiothlypis virginiae
Vermivora virginiae
Oreothlypis virginiae
Identification
Small - 12cm (4.75") overall gray warbler with weak yellow crissum and upper chest. Distinctive bold white eye-ring. Males have small orange crown, often difficult to see.
Similar species
The closely related Nashville Warbler is the same size and general appearance, but there is no range overlap, and it has much brighter and extensive yellow plumage and a green back. Look also at Lucy's Warbler and Colima Warbler.
Distribution
In summer, can be found in Nevada, southern Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. Migrates south in winter to western Mexico: northern Jalisco and Guanajuato to Oaxaca.
Taxonomy
It was formerly included in Vermivora or in Oreothlypis.
Habitat
Dry brush and scrub woodlands of pine and oak, rocky canyons.
Behaviour
They build their cup shaped nests from moss, grass, strips of bark, and roots, on the ground, hidden amongst dead leaves and tufts of grass at the base of a shrub or young tree. 3 to 5 white, dotted with fine brown speckles, eggs are laid. Both parents care for the young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- R. T. Chesser, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, et al. (2019) Sixtieth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society’s Check-list of North American Birds, The Auk: Ornithological Advances XX:1–23. PDF
- 51st supplement to the AOU checklist of North American birds
