Bay-breasted Warbler

In breeding plumage, this large warbler has a chestnut breast and sides. But during fall migration, many individuals have only minimal bay color underneath. The green back and slightly streaked undersides on a warbler with white wingbars helps identify the species in fall. The black, not buffy legs help distinguish it from fall Blackpoll Warblers, as does the buffy undertail coverts (white in Blackpoll). Length: 14 cm.; weight: 13 g. Breeds in boreal forests of southern Canada, and winters from Costa Rica to northwestern South America. Accidental in Puerto Rico in coastal, dry, and wet forests, (e.g. Isla Grande, 17 October 2000; Punta Melones, Cabo Rojo, 2 November 2003).

TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; PARULIDAE


Non-breeding plumage - Photo: G. Beaton

References

Arendt, W.J. 1992. Status of North American migrant landbirds in the Caribbean region: a summary. Pp. 143-171 in Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds (J.M. Hagan III and D.W. Johnston, eds.) Smithsonian Instit. Press, Washington, D.C.

Bent, A.C. 1953. Life histories of North American wood warblers. Smithsonian Instit. U.S. National Museum Bull. 203. (Reprinted by Dover Press, NY, 1963).

Curson, J., D. Quinn, and D. Beadle. 1994. Warblers of the Americas: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin, NY.

Dunn, J. and K. Garrett. 1997. A field guide to warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin, NY.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birderÆs handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster/ Fireside, NY.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Williams, J. McI. 1996. Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea). No. 206 in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, PA, and Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C.

Bay-breasted Warbler, Spanish text

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