Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina)
The Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina) is a small little songbird that can be found in Canada, in the boreal forest, and in the New England area. During the colder winter months, the Cape May Warbler will migrate to the West Indies. Being only 4.25 inches in size, the most preferred prey and of the warbler will be spruce budworms. They will also feed on small insects. This songbird is extremely active and very energetic. Males can still rely on the outer beauty, while the females have to use their charm and personality.
The male Cape May Warbler is a strikingly beautiful bird. Predominantly, they are of radiant yellow coloring, with very thin stripes of black across their chests. They will also display chestnut colored cheeks and have patches of white on their wings. Their female counterparts are dull in color and lack the patches on their wings, and the chestnut cheeks.
As mentioned before, the Cape May Warbler feeds on insects, which they will either pick off the plants or catch while in flight. What makes this bird species interesting is its semitubular tongue. This feature is unique to the Cape May Warbler, and enables them to feed on nectar or drink berry juice during the winter months. They as also extremely territorial, and often chase other Cape May Warblers off the tree that they are feeding on.
The Cape May Warbler was first sighted and described by Alexander Wilson, in Cape May that is located in New Jersey. Strangely enough, the bird was not seen in this area for over a hundred years. The Cape May Warblers build their nests near the trunk of the trees, and prefer nesting in dense forests. Nests are constructed of small twigs and grass, with feathers and hair being used to line the nests. The females lay between six to eight eggs, and are known to lay more eggs during the times when spruce budworms are in abundance. Only the females take care of the incubation period of the eggs that are a slightly off white color and is speckled with gray and brown.
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