Wilson's Warbler
Cardellina pusilla
Summary 5
The Wilson's warbler (Cardellina pusilla) is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent in the female. It breeds across Canada and south through the western United States, and winters from Mexico south through much of Central America. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
Description 6
Wilson's warbler is a small passerine, ranging from 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) in length, with a wingspan of 14–17 cm (5.5–6.7 in) and a mass of 5–10 g (0.18–0.35 oz). It has a plain green-brown back and yellow underparts. The male has a small black cap. Males of the western race C. p. chryseola are greener above and brighter than males of the eastern, nominate race. Individuals from Alaska and the west-central portion of the species' range average slightly larger than those found in eastern and Pacific coastal populations. Its song is a chattering series of loud descending notes. The call is a flat "chuff".
The Wilson's warbler resembles the yellow warbler: the latter is readily distinguished by its different shape, yellow wing markings, and yellow tail spots.
Distribution and habitat 6
The breeding habitat is fairly open woodland with undergrowth or shrubs and thickets in moist areas with streams, ponds, bogs, and wet clearings.
Wilson's warbler breeds in northern Canada and the western US; it winters in overgrown clearings and coffee plantations, forest edges, deciduous forests, tropical evergreens, pine-oak forests, mangroves, thorn-scrub, riparian gallery forests, brushy fields, and mixed forests . At all seasons, it prefers secondary growth, riparian habitats, lakes, montane and boreal forests with overgrown clearcuts. It is a very rare vagrant to Western Europe.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Michael Woodruff, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/38972116@N00/26107945
- (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
- (c) Tony Iwane, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Iwane
- (c) John Beetham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/dendroica/14036081918/
- Adapted by Desmon M Dunn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardellina_pusilla
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson's_warbler
