Forest and Rangeland Birds of the United States

Natural History and Habitat Use

Colima Warbler -- Vermivora crissalis


RANGE: Breeds in the Chisos Mountains in extreme western Texas and northern Mexico. Winters in Mexico.

STATUS: Rare and local.

HABITAT: Inhabits forested canyons and slopes between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, where it frequents thickets of young maples and oaks along dry stream beds, clumps of small oaks along mountain slopes, and mixed woods of maple, oak, Arizona cypress, and yellow pine.

SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Oak thickets above 6,000 feet.

NEST: Nests on the ground among fallen leaves and vines, which may partly or completely conceal the nest. Locates nest on rocky slopes, or adjacent to dry stream beds among small rocks and leaves where there are clumps of small oaks.

FOOD: Occupies the lower tree branches and forages for caterpillars and other insects in Arizona cypress and neighboring vegetation. (No food studies on this species in the United States.)

REFERENCES: Blake 1949, Griscom and Sprunt 1979, Oberholser 1974b, Van Tyne 1936.


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