Cape May Warbler

Setophaga tigrina

Summary 4

The Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is a species of New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding range spans all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two records in Britain as of October 2013. The English name refers to Cape May, New Jersey, where George...

Setophaga tigrina 5

A medium-sized (5 inches) wood warbler, the male Cape May Warbler is most easily identified by its streaked olive back, streaked yellow breast and flanks, and yellow face with prominent rusty cheek patches. Female Cape May Warblers are similar to males, but are duller and lack rusty patches on the face. The male is relatively unmistakable in good light, but the female may be confused with other female wood warblers with streaked flanks, such as the female Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca). The Cape May Warbler primarily breeds in south-central Canada. Smaller numbers breed south of the U.S. border in the upper Midwest and northern New England. The Cape May Warbler winters from the Florida Keys and the Bahamas south to southern Mexico and Central America. Cape May Warblers breed in northern evergreen forests, particularly in areas where spruce and fir trees occur. In winter, this species may be found in a number of shrubby habitat types, including mangroves and forest edges. Cape May Warblers mainly eat small invertebrates, including insects and spiders, although this species may eat fruits or berries in winter. In appropriate habitat, Cape May Warblers may be observed foraging for food located on leaves, needles, and branches in the forest canopy. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a high-pitched “seet” note repeated several times in quick succession. Cape May Warblers are primarily active during the day.

Habitat 6

The Cape May Warbler occurs in mature to old growth coniferous or mixed forest near creeks, wetlands and lakes.

Iucn red list assessment 7


Red List Category
LC
Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2012

Assessor/s
BirdLife International

Reviewer/s
Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s

Justification
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Len Blumin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/9062441@N02/3505658552
  2. (c) Ken Schneider, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5024/5613786826_5bdc8e7e5c.jpg
  3. (c) Kenneth Cole Schneider, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5068/5613786162_f9f5ba2ab5.jpg
  4. Adapted by Amanda Carrillo-Perez from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setophaga_tigrina
  5. (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818209
  6. (c) L.G. Johanson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/518919
  7. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34420051

More Info