Cape May warbler

The Cape May warbler (Setophaga tigrina) is a species of New World warbler. It breeds in northern North America. Its breeding range spans all but the westernmost parts of southern Canada, the Great Lakes region, and New England. It is migratory, wintering in the West Indies. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe, with two records in Britain as of October 2013. The English name refers to Cape May, New Jersey, where George Ord collected the specimen later described by Alexander Wilson. This species was not recorded again in Cape May for another 100 years, although it is now known as an uncommon migrant there.

Etymology
The genus name Setophaga is from Ancient Greek ses, "moth," and phagos, "eating", and the specific tigrina is Latin for "tiger-striped" from tigris, "tiger".

Description
This bird is a small passerine and is a mid-sized New World warbler. Length can vary from 12 –, wingspan is 19 - 22 cm, and body mass can range from 9 –. Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 6.1 –, the tail is 4.3 –, the bill is 0.9 – and the tarsus is 1.7 –. The adult male Cape May warbler has a brown back, yellowish rump and dark brown crown. The underparts are yellow streaked with black, giving rise to the bird's scientific name. The throat and nape are bright yellow and the face has a striking chestnut patch framed in yellow with a black eyestripe. There is a narrow white wing bar.

Plumages of the female and immature male resemble washed-out versions of the adult male, lacking the strong head pattern. The yellowish rump, and at least indications of the white wing bar, are always present.

Biology
This species is insectivorous and lays larger clutches in years when spruce budworm is abundant. It picks insects from the tips of conifer branches or flies out to catch insects. The Cape May warbler also feeds on berry juice and nectar in winter, and has, uniquely for a warbler, a tubular tongue to facilitate this behavior.

The breeding habitat of this bird is the edges of coniferous woodland. Cape May warblers nest in dense foliage near the trunk of the tree, commonly the black spruce, and lay 4–9 eggs in a cup nest. This species can lay the largest clutch of any New World warbler, probably in response to increases in the numbers of spruce budworm during outbreaks.

The song of the Cape May warbler is a simple repetition of high tsi notes. The call is a thin sip. This bird usually sings from high perches.

Books

 * Baltz, M. E., and S. C. Latta. 1998. Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina). In The Birds of North America, No. 332 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
 * Staicer CA. (1992). Social Behavior of the Northern Parula Cape May Warbler and Prairie Warbler Wintering in Second-Growth Forest in Southwestern Puerto Rico. In: Hagan, J M Iii and D W Johnston (Ed) Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds; Symposium, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, December 6–9, 1989 Xiii+609p Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington, DC, USA; London, England, Uk Illus Maps 308–320, 1992.

Thesis

 * Latta SC. Ph.D. (2000). Ecology and population regulation of neotropical migratory birds in the Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic. University of Missouri – Columbia, United States, Missouri.
 * McMartin DW. M.Sc. (1996). Impact of insecticide applications on the foraging behaviour and diet of three boreal forest warbler species. University of Toronto (Canada), Canada.

Reports

 * Cooper JM, Enns KA & Shepard MG. (1997). Status of the Cape May warbler in British Columbia. (Wildlife working report / British Columbia. Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks ; WR-82 ISSN 0831-4330) Victoria: Ministry of Environment, Lands & Parks, Wildlife Branch, 1997. x, 23 p. (38 pages)
 * Norton MR. (2001). Status of the Cape May warbler, Dendroica tigrina, in Alberta. (Alberta wildlife status report / Alberta. Alberta Environmental Protection ; no. 33 ISSN 1206-4912) Edmonton: Alberta Conservation Assn ; Alberta Environment, Fisheries & Wildlife Management Division, Resource Status & Assessment Branch, 2001. vi, 22 p. (31 pages)

Articles
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 * Academy Of Natural Sciences Of P. (1998). Cape May Warbler: Dendroica tigrina. Birds of North America. vol 0, no 332. pp. 1–18.
 * Byars T & Galbraith H. (1980). CAPE MAY WARBLER – NEW TO BRITAIN AND IRELAND. British Birds. vol 73, no 1. pp. 2–5.
 * Grennan E. (1981). ON A CAPE MAY WARBLER WHO FLEW AGAINST MY WINDOW. Irish University Review. vol 11, no 2. pp. 181–181.
 * Hall GA. (1981). Fall Migration Patterns of Wood Warblers in the Southern Appalachians USA. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 52, no 1. pp. 43–49.
 * Howe WM, Taylor DM & Jett DA. (1989). Additional Records of Birds from Cat Island, Bahamas. The Wilson Bulletin. vol 101, no 1. p. 115.
 * Kirk DA & Hobson KA. (2001). Bird-habitat relationships in jack pine boreal forests. Forest Ecology & Management. vol 147, no 2-3. pp. 217–243.
 * Latta SC & Faaborg J. (2002). Demographic and population responses of Cape May Warblers Wintering in multiple habitats. Ecology. vol 83, no 9. pp. 2502–2515.
 * Latta SC, Gamper HA & Tietz JR. (2001). Revising the convergence hypothesis of avian use of honeydew: Evidence from Dominican subtropical dry forest. Oikos. vol 93, no 2. pp. 250–259.
 * Latta SC & O'Connor BM. (2001). Patterns of Knemidokoptes jamaicensis (Acari: Knemidokoptidae) infestations among eight new avian hosts in the Dominican Republic. Journal of Medical Entomology. vol 38, no 3. pp. 437–440.
 * Lemon RE, Struger J & Lechowicz MJ. (1983). Song Features as Species Discriminants in American Warblers Parulidae. Condor. vol 85, no 3. pp. 308–322.
 * McMartin B, Bellocq I & Smith SM. (2002). Patterns of consumption and diet differentiation for three breeding warbler species during a spruce budworm outbreak. The Auk. vol 119, no 1. p. 216.
 * Meiklejohn BA & Hughes JW. (1999). Bird communities in riparian buffer strips of industrial forests. American Midland Naturalist. vol 141, no 1. pp. 172–184.
 * Morris SR, Holmes DW & Richmond ME. (1996). A ten-year study of the stopover patterns of migratory passerines during fall migration on Appledore Island, Maine. Condor. vol 98, no 2. pp. 395–409.
 * Parkes KC. (1995). Reinterpretation of the probable parentage of a hybrid Wood-warbler (Seiurus x Dendroica). The Auk. vol 112, no 2. p. 510.
 * Pashley DN. (1988). Warblers of the West Indies Ii. the Western Caribbean. Caribbean Journal of Science. vol 24, no 3-4. pp. 112–126.
 * Patten MA & Burger JC. (1998). Spruce budworm outbreaks and the incidence of vagrancy in eastern North American wood-warblers. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 76, no 3. pp. 433–439.
 * Pulliam B. (1985). Late Winter Occurrence of a Cape May Warbler at Athens Georgia USA. Oriole. vol 50, no 2-3.
 * Rowan R. (1993). A late November record for a Cape May warbler at Toccoa. Oriole. vol 58, no 1-4. pp. 21–22.
 * Sealy SG. (1989). Defense of Nectar Resources by Migrating Cape May Warblers. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 60, no 1. pp. 89–93.
 * Stewart PA. (1986). Fall Migration of Twelve Species of Wood Warblers through Coastal Virginia USA. North American Bird Bander. vol 11, no 3. pp. 83–88.
 * Taylor P. (1988). Cape May Warbler in Manitoba Canada in December. Blue Jay. vol 46, no 3. pp. 160–162.