Leiothlypis luciae
The Lucy's Warbler (Leiothlypis luciae) is a diminutive and often understated avian gem of the American Southwest, measuring a mere 4.2-4.5 inches (10-11.5 cm) in length, with a wingspan of 6-7 inches (15-18 cm) and weighing just 6-8 grams. Its plumage is subtly elegant, characterized by a soft pale gray dorsally and a clean white belly, making it one of the more cryptically colored warblers. Distinctive field marks include conspicuous rusty-red uppertail coverts and rump, along with delicate...
Found primarily in arid and semi-arid riparian woodlands, mesquite thickets, and desert washes, usually near water sources, at low to mid-elevations.
Feeds almost exclusively on small insects and spiders, including caterpillars, beetles, leafhoppers, and lacewings, typically gleaned from foliage and bark.
Primarily diurnal, Lucy's Warblers are active foragers, often heard more than seen as they dart through dense foliage during daylight hours and roost individually within dense shrubbery at night. They employ a gleaning foraging strategy, rapidly moving through the lower and middle strata of mesqu...
The Lucy's Warbler is primarily a characteristic avian inhabitant of the arid and semi-arid Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Its core breeding range extends across southeastern California, southern Nevada, much of Arizona, southwestern Utah, and western New Mexico, pushing sout...
Least Concern
- The Lucy's Warbler is the smallest of all North American warblers, barely larger than a hummingbird in body mass. - It is the only species of New World Warbler (family Parulidae) known to consistently nest inside tree cavities or old nests of other birds. - Named after Lucy Hunter Baird, the da...