Forest and Rangeland Birds of the United States

Natural History and Habitat Use

Black-throated Green Warbler -- Dendroica virens

RANGE: Breeds from east-central British Columbia and northern Alberta to central Ontario and Newfoundland south to central Alberta, southern Manitoba, central Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey, and south in the mountains to northern Alabama and Georgia. Winters from southern Texas and southern Florida south to Central America and the West Indies.

STATUS: Common.

HABITAT: Inhabits open mixed woodlands (especially northern hardwood-hemlock stands), northern coniferous forests with large trees, and larch bogs. Less often, inhabits second-growth hardwoods and pastures with cedars. It occurs rather commonly in pine barrens in Maine and jack pines in Michigan.

SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Some coniferous cover.

NEST: Builds a compact, deep cup nest, usually placed on a branch or in a fork of a conifer tree, 3 to 80 feet above the ground; occasionally uses a deciduous tree.

FOOD: Largely consumes insects gleaned from leaves and branches, and occasionally hawks flying insects.

REFERENCES: Griscom and Sprunt 1979, Harrison 1975, Pitelka 1940, Terres 1982.

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