The Hooded Warblers, Wilsonia citrina, is a New World warbler.
Range / Distribution
It breeds in eastern North America across the eastern USA and into southernmost Canada.
It is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. Hooded Warblers are very rare vagrants in Western Europe.
Description
The Hooded Warbler has a plain olive/green-brown back and yellow underparts.
Their outer rectrices (= the long flight feathers of the tail) have whitish vanes.
Males have black hoods, which surround their yellow faces.
Breeding / Nesting
Hooded Warblers’ breeding habitats are broadleaved woodlands with dense undergrowth. These birds nest in low areas of a bush, laying 3-5 eggs in a cup-shaped nest.
They are often the victims of brood parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird, especially where the Hooded Warblers’ forest habitats are fragmented.
Diet / Feeding
These birds feed on insects, which are often found in low vegetation or caught by flycatching.
Song / Vocalizations
Hooded Warblers’ songs are a series of musical notes which sound like wheeta wheeta whee-tee-oh. The call of these birds is a loud chip.
References
- BirdLife International (2004). . 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- New World Warbler by Curson, Quinn and Beadle, ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
