| The Black-throated Green Warbler has a yellow face with a black throat and upper breast. The crown,.back and wings are olive green with two white wing bars. The contrasting white underparts make a striking combination aiding greatly in quick identification. The female is somewhat duller and the breast is less back but it is otherwise similar to the male. The song is a distinctive buzzy "zeee-zee-zee-zooo-zeee" and one of the easiest to learn of the wood warblers. The call note is a loud "tsip" or "chip".
The breeding habitat consists of the open stands of hemlock and pine of central and south eastern Canada. They are found in the United States near the Great Lakes, throughout New England and down through the Appalachian mountains south to Georgia. They also nest in the cypress swamps of coastal Carolina. The arrives north in May and the drowsy drawn out song is sung by the male to claim its territory upon arrival. Around September the bird migrates to the islands of the Caribbean and the mainland south to Panama.
The clutch consists of 4 or 5 white eggs spotted with brown and placed in a deep cup of grass, bark, and moss, lined with hair and feathers. The nest is usually placed on the horizontal branches of a conifer tree. The female incubates the eggs for about 12 days and the young fly about 9 days later, while being cared for by both parents.
The diet consists almost entirely of insects which it gleans and hovers from the upper and middle portions of trees, especially during nesting. Berries make up a smaller part of the diet at other times of the year. The Black-throated Green is abundant and often seen during migration darting and flitting about in search of insects. During migration it is more often seen as it will feed at almost any level where insects are available.
Length: 5 inches
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