From Opus

Male
Photo by Vogelman
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, May 2004

Setophaga ruticilla

[edit] Identification

4 1/2-5 1/2" (11-14 cm)
Male

• Black with bright orange patches on wings and tail
• White belly
  

Female and young birds: dull olive-brown above, white below, with yellow wing and tail patches.

Female
Photo by Al_in_Virginia
Quinton, Virginia, USA, September 2011

[edit] Distribution

North, Central and South America:
Breeds from Alaska to southern US.
Winters southern US to northern South America and West Indies

[edit] Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species^[1].

[edit] Habitat

Swampy and mixed woodlands, thickets and copses

[edit] Behaviour

Fans its tail from side to side when perched.

[edit] Diet

It mainly eats insects.

[edit] Breeding

Four white eggs, speckled brown, are laid in cup-shaped nest. The nest is made of grass, bark shreds, plant fibers, and spiderweb and lined with fine grass and hair. The nest is placed in the fork of a tree.

[edit] Vocalisation

Five to six high-pitched notes or 2-note phrases. It ends with an upward or downward inflection: chewy-chewy-chewy, chew-chew-chew.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. enature
3. Boreal Songbird Initiative

[edit] External Links