Blackpoll Warbler

The Blackpoll Warbler is a modest-looking bird with an extraordinary life history. Breeding males show a solid black cap contrasting with white cheeks, black malar and moustache streaking, and a streaked black-and-white body, giving a crisp, orderly pattern. Females and fall birds are much duller, olive-gray above and pale yellowish below with faint streaking, often causing identification challenges during fall migration.

All plumages typically show pale legs with the feet often appearing yellowish, a helpful mark when other features are ambiguous. This warbler holds one of the most remarkable migratory feats of any songbird, flying nonstop over open ocean from the northeastern United States to wintering grounds in South America, a journey of several days without stopping.

Key Field Marks

• Breeding male: solid black cap, white cheek, black streaking on white underparts
• Fall/female: dull olive-gray above, pale yellowish below with faint streaking, lacking the bold cap
• Pale legs and feet, often yellowish, useful in dull plumages
• Two white wingbars
• Streaked, unmarked face pattern (in dull plumage) lacking bold contrast

Similar Species

Black-and-white Warbler shows fully striped plumage over the entire body and creeps along tree trunks, unlike the Blackpoll's solid black cap and foliage-gleaning habits. Fall Blackpoll Warblers closely resemble fall Bay-breasted and Pine Warblers; pale legs, a streaked back, and faint breast streaking help separate Blackpoll from these similar species.

Habitat

Blackpoll Warblers breed in boreal spruce forest and stunted taiga, including areas near treeline in the far north. During migration, they use a broad range of woodland and shrub habitats to refuel.

Range

This species breeds across the northern boreal forest of Canada and Alaska, with a small population in the mountains of the northeastern United States. It winters in the Amazon Basin and other parts of northern South America.

Migration

Blackpoll Warblers undertake one of the most impressive migrations of any songbird: many individuals fly nonstop over the open Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern U.S. and Atlantic Canada to South America, a flight that can last more than 80 hours and cover roughly 2,500-3,000 km without landing.

Behavior

During the breeding season, Blackpolls forage in dense spruce and fir foliage, generally moving less frantically than some warblers; during migration, they can be found gleaning actively through a wide range of woodland vegetation while building substantial fat reserves for their oceanic flight.

Voice

The song is an extremely high-pitched, monotonous series of single-pitched notes that increase then decrease slightly in volume, often described as 'tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi.' The call is a sharp 'chip.'

Feeding

It gleans insects and spiders from needles and foliage during the breeding season, and eats fruit and insects opportunistically while building fat reserves before its long migratory flight.

Nesting & Breeding

The female builds a well-insulated cup nest low in a spruce or fir, often close to the trunk. She lays 3-5 eggs, raising young quickly to take advantage of the short northern breeding season before departing on migration.