Lucy's Warbler
Encyclopedia
Lucy's Warbler, Oreothlypis luciae, is the smallest New World warbler
found in North America
, measuring a mere 4.25 inches in length.
It is rather nondescript compared to other wood-warblers. Its head and upperparts are pale gray, while underparts are whitish. It has a white eyering and a small, pointed bill
. Both sexes have a rufous rump, a diagnostic field mark. Adult males also have a small rusty crown patch. Juveniles are paler, with a tawny rump and buffy wingbars.
and brushy country of the southwestern
United States
and northwestern Mexico
. Lucy's is the only warbler besides Prothonotary
to nest in cavities. Habitat loss and to a lesser extent, Brown-headed Cowbird
parasitism
are threatening this species, and populations are diminishing throughout its breeding range. The birds migrate
to western Mexico in winter.
These strictly insectivorous
birds forage actively, looking for the caterpillars, beetles, and leafhoppers that compose much of their diet.
Lucy's Warbler is closely related to Virginia's Warbler
, Nashville Warbler
and Colima Warbler
.
The common name and binomial of this species commemorate Lucy Hunter Baird, daughter of ornithologist Spencer Fullerton Baird
.
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New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds restricted to the New World. They are not related to the Old World warblers or the Australian warblers....
found in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, measuring a mere 4.25 inches in length.
It is rather nondescript compared to other wood-warblers. Its head and upperparts are pale gray, while underparts are whitish. It has a white eyering and a small, pointed bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. Both sexes have a rufous rump, a diagnostic field mark. Adult males also have a small rusty crown patch. Juveniles are paler, with a tawny rump and buffy wingbars.
Life history
Lucy's Warblers inhabit riparian mesquiteMesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
and brushy country of the southwestern
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and northwestern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Lucy's is the only warbler besides Prothonotary
Prothonotary Warbler
The Prothonotary Warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. It is the only member of the genus Protonotaria....
to nest in cavities. Habitat loss and to a lesser extent, Brown-headed Cowbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
The Brown-headed Cowbird is a small brood parasitic icterid of temperate to subtropical North America. They are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range; northern birds migrate to the southern United States and Mexico in winter, returning to their summer habitat around March or...
parasitism
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
are threatening this species, and populations are diminishing throughout its breeding range. The birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to western Mexico in winter.
These strictly insectivorous
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
birds forage actively, looking for the caterpillars, beetles, and leafhoppers that compose much of their diet.
Lucy's Warbler is closely related to Virginia's Warbler
Virginia's Warbler
Virginia's Warbler is a species of New World warbler.Despite what its name may suggest, Virginia's warbler is not actually named after the American State of Virginia, which makes sense as the birds range only reaches as far east as the state of Texas...
, Nashville Warbler
Nashville Warbler
The Nashville Warbler, Vermivora ruficapilla, is a small songbird in the New World warbler family.They have olive-brown upperparts, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast; they have a white eye ring, no wing bars and a thin pointed bill. Adult males have a grey head with a rusty crown patch ;...
and Colima Warbler
Colima Warbler
The Colima Warbler, Oreothlypis crissalis, is a New World warbler. It is mainly found in the Sierra Madre Occidental of central Mexico, though its range just barely extends into adjacent southwestern Texas in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park....
.
The common name and binomial of this species commemorate Lucy Hunter Baird, daughter of ornithologist Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird
Spencer Fullerton Baird was an American ornithologist, ichthyologist and herpetologist. Starting in 1850 he was assistant-secretary and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C...
.
Books
- Johnson, R. R., H. K. Yard, and B. T. Brown. 1997. Lucy’s Warbler (Vermivora luciae). In The Birds of North America, No. 318 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.
Thesis
- Laudenslayer WFJ. Ph.D. (1981). HABITAT UTILIZATION BY BIRDS OF THREE DESERT RIPARIAN COMMUNITIES. Arizona State University, United States, Arizona.
- Lloyd JD. M.S. (1997). Large-scale vegetation features affecting the distribution and abundance of grassland birds. The University of Arizona, United States, Arizona.
Articles
- Heil RS. (1981). An Avian Fallout and Black-Chinned Hummingbird Archilochus-Alexandri New-Record and Lucys Warbler Vermivora-Luciae New-Record in Massachusetts USA a Consideration of the Factors That May Have Resulted in an Unusual Cluster of Records. American Birds. vol 35, no 2. pp. 139–141.
- Lloyd J, Mannan RW, Destefano S & Kirkpatrick C. (1998). The effects of mesquite invasion on a southeastern Arizona grassland bird community. Wilson Bulletin. vol 110, no 3. pp. 403–408.
- Patten MA, Erickson RA & Unitt P. (2004). Population changes and biogeographic affinities of the birds of the Salton Sink, California/Baja California. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 27, pp. 24–32.
- Stoleson SH, Shook RS & Finch DM. (2000). Breeding biology of Lucy's Warbler in southwestern New Mexico. Western Birds. vol 31, no 4. pp. 235–242.
- Voelker G & McFarland SL. (2002). Molt patterns and molting grounds of Lucy's and Virginia's Warblers: Similar yet different. Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 2. pp. 255–263.
- Yard HK, van Riper C, III, Brown BT & Kearsley MJ. (2004). Diets of insectivorous birds along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona. Condor. vol 106, no 1. pp. 106–115.
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