Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea)

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A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series). by Kimball L. Garrett, Jon L. Dunn, Cindy House (Illustrator)

Warblers of Eastern North America

Color Photograph: Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

Recording by John R. Sauer, U.S. Geological Survey

Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea)

Identification: 4.75 inches from tip of bill to tip of tail.

Breeding Male: Cap, throat, and sides rusty-red, contrasting with the white of breast and belly. Wing bars are present and a black mask runs through the eyes.

Female: Much duller than male, but with tinges of rusty-red on the sides of the breast and cap. A black line runs through the eye and wing bars are present. Two large white patches are present on the underside of the tail.

Fall Male and Female: All tinges of rusty-red are usually absent. The birds are olive-green above and yellow below. The tail has two large white patches below and a thin dark line runs through the eye.

Immature: As in fall males and females.

Similar Species: The breeding male might be mistaken for a Chestnut-sided Warbler, but rusty-red is more more extensive. The cap of the Bay-breasted Warbler is rusty-red, not yellow as in the Chestnut-sided Warbler. The fall male, fall female, and immature are very similar to the fall Blackpoll Warbler. However the legs of the fall Blackpoll Warblers are yellow, while those of the Bay-breasted Warbler are dark, sometimes tinged with a tinge or rust-red. Immatures of the Pine Warbler lack the dark streaking on the back of the Bay-breasted Warbler and white patches are absent on the underside of the tail feathers.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Bay-breasted Warbler breeds throughout most of the Northern Boreal Forest from Nova Scotia and New England in the east, westward to western Alberta and southwestern Northwest Territories. The species is absent from Alaska, Yukon, and most of British Columbia.

Overwintering Range: American tropics.

Habitat: Breeds in open spruce forests. The species is found in deciduous trees during migration.

Food: Insects primarily, but occasionally a little fruit.

Behavior: Song very high and weak, constant in pitch and volume.

Reproduction: The nest is a a loose cup composed of twigs lined with hair. The nest is located in a conifer tree. Clutch size ranges between 4 and 7, but averages 5. The eggs are white with brown markings. The eggs are incubated for 12-13 days and the days to fledge are between 11 and 12.

Notes: The abundance of the Bay-breasted Warbler is cyclical with peaks corresponding to outbreaks of the Spruce Budworm moth.