Grace's Warbler
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Grace's Warbler | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Dendroica graciae Baird, 1865 |
Grace's Warbler, Dendroica graciae, a small perching bird, is a species of New World warbler.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Grace's Warbler was discovered by Dr. Elliott Coues in the Rocky Mountains in 1864. Coues chose to name the new species after his 18-year-old sister, Grace Darling Coues, and his request was honored when Spencer Fullerton Baird described the species scientifically in 1865.
Grace's Warbler is a small bird, growing to 11 – 13 cm in length. It is mostly gray on top, with broken black streaks across the back and flanks and two white bars on the wings. The throat and breast are a bright and vibrant yellow, and it has a yellow half-eye ring under the eye and a long yellow "eyebrow" stripe that starts at the base of the beak and runs above the eye, fading to white after it passes the eye. The rest of the underparts are white.
Grace's Warblers are locally common in open mixed pine-oak woodlands above 2,000 m (7,000 feet). Grace's Warblers summer in the south-western United States and northern Mexico and migrate into Central America for the winter, traveling as far south as Nicaragua.
The nesting habits of Grace's Warblers are largely unknown, as nests are very rarely found. The nest is a compact cup of plant fibers, the inside lined with hair and feathers, placed high above ground on a tree branch, usually pine. The female lays 3 to 5 white or cream-colored eggs, speckled with brown, and ringed at the larger end.
Like the vast majority of warblers, Grace's Warbler is totally insectivorous. It will often hover to inspect pine cones for insect larvae.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Dendroica graciae. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
[edit] Further reading
[edit] Book
- Stacier, C. A, and M. J. Guzy. 2002. Grace’s Warbler (Dendroica graciae). In The Birds of North America, No. 677 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
[edit] Thesis
- Burgoyne PC. Ph.D. (1980). BIRD POPULATION CHANGES AND MANIPULATION OF A PONDEROSA PINE FOREST ON THE KAIBAB PLATEAU, ARIZONA. Brigham Young University, United States -- Utah.
- Greene FP. Ph.D. (1989). Food resources, interspecific aggression, and community organization in a guild of insectivorous birds. Princeton University, United States -- New Jersey.
[edit] Articles
- Chris K, Courtney JC & Patricia BJ. (2006). Distribution and Relative Abundance of Forest Birds in Relation to Burn Severity in Southeastern Arizona. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol 70, no 4. p. 1005.
- Craig AM. (1970). 2 California Records of Graces Warbler. California Birds. vol 1, no 2. p. 77-78.
- Halbach U. (1976). Population Models and Syn Ecological Models in Ornithology. Journal fuer Ornithologie. vol 117, no 3. p. 279-296.
- Johnson NK & Garrett KL. (1974). Interior Bird Species Expand Breeding Ranges into Southern California. Western Birds. vol 5, no 2. p. 45-56.
- Maurer BA. (1983). Overlap and Competition in Avian Guilds. American Naturalist. vol 121, no 6. p. 903-907.
- Rusterholz KA. (1981). Competition and the Structure of an Avian Foraging Guild. American Naturalist. vol 118, no 2. p. 173-190.
- Staicer CA. (1989). Characteristics Use and Significance of Two Singing Behaviors in Grace's Warbler Dendroica-Graciae. Auk. vol 106, no 1. p. 49-63.
- Staicer CA & Guzy MJ. (2002). Grace's Warbler: Dendroica graciae. Birds of North America. vol 677, p. 1-19.
- Zinkl JG, Mack PD, Mount ME & Shea PJ. (1984). Brain Cholin Esterase Activity and Brain and Liver Residues in Wild Birds of a Forest Sprayed with Acephate. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. vol 3, no 1. p. 79-88.
