The Nashville warbler (''Leiothlypis ruficapilla'') is a small

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

in the

New World warbler The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. The family contains 120 species. They are not closely related to Old World warb ...

family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter in

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, Mexico, and the north of Central America. It has a gray head and a green back, and its underparts are yellow and white.

Description

The Nashville warbler is a small warbler. Both male and female Nashville warblers have a gray head fading into a greenish back and wings, a white belly and a yellow throat and breast. They have a complete white eye ring, no wing bars, and a thin pointed black bill. Adult males have a rusty brown patch on their crown, which is usually hard to see and often covered by gray feathers. Males will raise it slightly when agitated. Females and immature birds have a duller olive-grey head, and less bold yellow on their throat. The Nashville warbler is closely related to

Virginia's warbler Virginia's warbler (''Leiothlypis virginiae'') 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' typical range on ...

Lucy's warbler Lucy's warbler (''Leiothlypis luciae'') is a small New World warbler found in North America. This species ranges includes southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is one of only two warblers to nest in cavities. Description Lucy's ...

, and the

Colima warbler The Colima warbler (''Leiothlypis crissalis'') is a New World warbler. It is mainly found in the Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental mountains of central Mexico, though its range just barely extends into adjacent southwestern Texas in the Chisos ...

, the four sharing generally similar plumage. Measurements: * Length: * Weight: * Wingspan:

Call

The song of the nominate eastern subspecies consists of a rapid '. Males sing from open perches on the nesting territory. The call sounds like a high '. Western birds of the race ''ridgwayi'' have a slightly lower-pitched, richer song, and a sharper call note.

Taxonomy

The Nashville warbler was originally described as ''Sylvia ruficapilla'' by Alexander Wilson in 1811, using a name which had already been used by John Latham, but not in a valid description according to the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted Convention (norm), convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific name, scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the I ...

. Possibly unintentionally, Wilson spelled its name as ''Sylvia rubricapilla'' in a later volume in 1812, and this spelling was once commonly used. The genus '' Sylvia'' is now restricted to Old World species of the family

Sylviidae Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers ''Sylvia'', and closely related genus '' Curruca'', formerly included in ''Sylvia''. They are found in Eurasia and Africa, with the greatest diversity in the Mediterrane ...

, unrelated to species such as the Nashville warbler, that are classified in the

family Parulidae. Until recently, most taxonomies have put this species in the genus ''

Vermivora ''Vermivora'' is a genus of New World warblers. Species Three species are accepted in the genus,IOC World Bird LisFamily Parulidae one of these species may be extinct: Several additional species were formerly included in ''Vermivora ...

''. However, this species forms a clade with several related species classed in ''Vermivora'', such as the

Tennessee warbler The Tennessee warbler (''Leiothlypis peregrina'') is a New World warbler that breeds in eastern North America and winters in southern Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. The specific name ''peregrina'' is from Latin '' pe ...

and

, which are more closely related to the flame-throated warbler and

crescent-chested warbler The crescent-chested warbler (''Oreothlypis superciliosa'') is a small New World warbler. It is common throughout its montane range, from northern Mexico to northern Nicaragua, and is an occasional vagrant to Texas. It shows an affinity for oaks ...

than to other species of ''Vermivora''. They were classified in the genus ''

Oreothlypis ''Oreothlypis'' is a genus of New World warbler. Most members of this genus for formerly classified in the genus ''Vermivora''. However, the species then in ''Vermivora'' were more closely related to the flame-throated warbler and crescent-che ...

'' along with the flame-throated and crescent-chested warblers, although the new genus ''Leiothlypis'' was initially proposed for the Nashville warbler and allies, excluding the latter two species.

Subspecies

There are two recognized subspecies of Nashville warbler, split primarily by geographic range. The two subspecies also have distinct plumage and calls: * ''L.r. ruficapilla –''

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In th ...

eastern subspecies of Nashville warbler. Mantle is olive-green, highly contrasting with gray head, and with a green-yellow ventrum.Lowther, P. E. and J. M. Williams (2020). Nashville Warbler (''Leiothlypis ruficapilla''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.naswar.01 * ''L.r. ridgwayi –'' western subspecies of Nashville warbler. Also called Calaveras warbler. Mantle is gray-green, lacking high contrast with head, and a yellow ventrum. Frequently bobs tail.

Distribution and habitat

Nashville warblers breed in two distinct areas, one in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the northeastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and another in the western United States. The northeastern part of its range extends from

Côte-Nord Côte-Nord (Region 09) (, ; ) is an List of regions of Quebec, administrative region of Quebec, on the Quebec-Labrador peninsula, Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, Canada. The region runs along the St. Lawrence River and then the Gulf of St. Lawrence, ...

and

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

in eastern Canada to central

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. For the most part, it only breeds between about 52 and 45.5 degrees north, but it is also found less commonly in the

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Although named after

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, the Nashville warbler only visits that area during migration. They

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

to southernmost

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, mid-

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and the northernmost parts of

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

(

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

) in winter. In their breeding range, they prefer open mixed woods and

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

habitats.

Behavior

Nashville warblers forage by

gleaning Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops in the field after harvest. During harvest, there is food that is left or missed often because it does not meet store standards for uniformity. Sometimes, fields are left because they were not ec ...

in the lower parts of trees and shrubs, frequently flicking their tails. In winter, they join together into loose flocks, and sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks. These birds mainly eat insects, but will supplement this diet with berries and nectar in the winter. Nashville warblers conceal their nests on the ground under shrubs. Nests are open cups built out of bark strips, leaves, and moss, and are lined with fine materials such as feathers or hairs. Typically, four or five eggs are laid in a

clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...

, and incubated for 11–12 days. Only the female incubates the eggs, though the male brings her food. On hatching, the young have no feathers apart from some brown down, and their eyes are closed. Juveniles fledge and leave the nest 11 days after hatching. There is a single record of hybridization with the

References

External links

* *
Species account
- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
Species account
on Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds

at birdwatching-bliss.com {{Taxonbar, from=Q27075894 Leiothlypis Native birds of Western Canada Native birds of Eastern Canada Native birds of the Northwestern United States Native birds of the Northeastern United States Birds of Appalachia (United States) Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands

Nashville warbler The Nashville warbler (''Leiothlypis ruficapilla'') is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter ...

Taxa named by Alexander Wilson (ornithologist)