Setophaga tigrina
The Cape May Warbler (*Setophaga tigrina*) is a striking and distinctive member of the New World Warbler family, renowned for its brilliant plumage and unique foraging adaptations. Males in breeding season exhibit a vibrant yellow head and underparts, boldly streaked flanks, a prominent chestnut ear patch, a diagnostic white wing patch, and a bright yellow rump, measuring approximately 12-14 cm in length with a wingspan of 19-22 cm and weighing 9-13 grams. Females are duller, lacking the brig...
Breeds primarily in mature coniferous forests, especially spruce and fir, in boreal regions. Winters in tropical broadleaf and mixed forests in the Caribbean and Central America, typically at lower to mid-elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding heavily on spruce budworms and other arboreal insects, supplemented by nectar and berries, especially during migration and winter.
Cape May Warblers are highly active diurnal foragers, constantly moving through the canopy. Their foraging strategy involves gleaning insects from conifer needles, but they are also adept at hovering to extract prey and occasionally sallying for flying insects. Males establish and defend territor...
The Cape May Warbler breeds across the vast boreal forests of North America, extending from interior Alaska and Yukon Territory eastward across Canada to Newfoundland, and south into the northern Great Lakes states (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) and northern New England (Maine, New Hampshire, V...
Least Concern
- The Cape May Warbler was named after Cape May, New Jersey, a famous migration hotspot where it is observed, not its breeding grounds. - It possesses a specialized, slightly decurved bill and a tubular tongue, allowing it to feed on nectar like a hummingbird. - Its population numbers can fluctua...