Orange-crowned warbler

The orange-crowned warbler (Leiothlypis celata) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.

Taxonomy
The orange-crowned warbler was formally described in 1822 by the American zoologist Thomas Say under the binomial name Sylvia celatus from a specimen collected on an expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains led by Stephen Harriman Long. The specific epithet celatus is Latin and means "secret" or "hidden". The type locality is Omaha, Nebraska. The orange-crowned warbler is now placed in the genus Leiothlypis that was introduced by the Dutch ornithologist George Sangster in 2008. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek λειος/leios meaning "plain" and θλυπις/thlupis, an unknown small bird mentioned by Aristotle.

Four subspecies are recognised:
 * L. c. celata (Say, 1822) – breeds in central Alaska to south Canada, winters in Guatemala
 * L. c. lutescens (Ridgway, 1872) – breeds in west Canada and west USA, winters in Guatemala
 * L. c. orestera (Oberholser, 1905) – breeds in west central Canada and west central USA, winters in Mexico
 * L. c. sordida (Townsend, CH, 1890) – resident in south California (southwest USA) and northwest Mexico

Description
The orange-crowned warbler has olive-grey upperparts, yellowish underparts with faint streaking and a thin pointed bill. It has a faint line over each eye and a faint broken eye ring. The orange patch on the crown is usually not visible. Females and immatures are duller in colour than males. Western birds are yellower than eastern birds. Orange-crowned warblers are distinguished by their lack of wing bars, streaking on the underparts, strong face marking or bright colouring, resembling a fall Tennessee warbler and a black-throated blue warbler, both of which are also members of the New World warbler family.

The song of is a trill, descending in pitch and volume. The call is a high chip.

Distribution and habitat
Their breeding habitat is open shrubby areas across Canada, Alaska and the western United States. These birds migrate in the winter to the southern United States and south to Central America. Although they are quite common in the western United States, they are uncommon in the east.

Breeding
The nest is a small open cup well-concealed on the ground under vegetation or low in shrubs. The female builds the nest; four to six eggs are laid in a nest on the ground or in a low bush. Both parents feed the young.

Food and feeding
They forage actively in low shrubs, flying from perch to perch, sometimes hovering. These birds eat insects, berries and nectar.

Books

 * Sogge, M. K., W. M. Gilbert, and C. v. Riper III. 1994. Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata). In The Birds of North America, No. 101 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists’ Union.

Articles
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 * Andres BA, Browne BT & Brann DL. (2005). Composition, abundance, and timing of post-breeding migrant landbirds at Yakutat, Alaska. Wilson Bulletin. vol 117, no 3. p. 270-279.
 * Conway CJ & Martin TE. (2000). Effects of ambient temperature on avian incubation behavior. Behavioral Ecology. vol 11, no 2. p. 178-188.
 * Flannery ME, Guers SL, Gardali T, Nur N & Geupel GR. (2004). Landbird migration at the Salton Sea: The value of desert riparian habitat. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 27, p. 106-115.
 * George TL & Brand LA. (2002). The effects of habitat fragmentation on birds in coast redwood forests. Studies in Avian Biology. vol 25, p. 92-102.
 * Gilbert WM. (1983). Flight Song and Song Flight in the Orange-Crowned Warbler Vermivora-Celata. Condor. vol 85, no 1.
 * Gilbert WM. (1994). Intrusions, and resident pair responses, during the breeding cycle of the orange-crowned Warbler. Journal of Avian Biology. vol 25, no 2. p. 105-111.
 * Gill REJ, Petersen MR & Jorgensen PD. (1981). Birds of the North Central Alaska Peninsula USA 1976-1980. Arctic. vol 34, no 4. p. 286-306.
 * Kelly JF. (2006). Stable isotope evidence links breeding geography and migration timing in wood warblers (Parulidae). Auk. vol 123, no 2. p. 431-437.
 * Kessler WB & Kogut TE. (1985). Habitat Orientations of Forest Birds in Southeastern Alaska USA. Northwest Science. vol 59, no 1. p. 58-65.
 * Komar O, O'Shea J, Townsend Peterson A & Navarro-Siguenza AG. (2005). Evidence of latitudinal sexual segregation among migratory birds wintering in Mexico. Auk. vol 122, no 3. p. 938-948.
 * Manweiler SA, Lane RS, Block WM & Morrison ML. (1990). Survey of Birds and Lizards for Ixodid Ticks Acari and Spirochetal Infection in Northern California USA. Journal of Medical Entomology. vol 27, no 6. p. 1011-1015.
 * Martin PR & Martin TE. (2001). Behavioral interactions between coexisting species: Song playback experiments with wood warblers. Ecology. vol 82, no 1. p. 207-218.
 * Martin PR & Martin TE. (2001). Ecological and fitness consequences of species coexistence: A removal experiment with wood warblers. Ecology. vol 82, no 1. p. 189-206.
 * Morrison ML. (1981). The Structure of Western Warbler Assemblages Analysis of Foraging Behavior and Habitat Selection in Oregon USA. Auk. vol 98, no 3. p. 578-588.
 * Morrison ML & Meslow EC. (1983). Bird Community Structure on Early Growth Clear Cuts in Western Oregon USA. American Midland Naturalist. vol 110, no 1. p. 129-137.
 * Paton PWC & Pogson TH. (1996). Relative abundance, migration strategy, and habitat use of birds breeding in Denali National Park, Alaska. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 110, no 4. p. 599-606.
 * Reisen WK, Chiles RE, Martinez VM, Fang Y & Green EN. (2003). Experimental infection of California birds with western equine encephalomyelitis and St. Louis encephalitis viruses. Journal of Medical Entomology. vol 40, no 6. p. 968-982.
 * Remsen JVJ, Ellerman M & Cole J. (1989). Dead-Leaf-Searching by the Orange-Crowned Warbler in Louisiana USA in Winter. Wilson Bulletin. vol 101, no 4. p. 645-648.
 * Scott VE & Crouch GL. (1987). Response of Breeding Birds to Commercial Clearcutting of Aspen in Southwestern Colorado USA. U S Forest Service Research Note RM. vol 475, p. 1-5.
 * Spicer GS. (1977). 2 New Nasal Mites of the Genus Ptilonyssus Mesostigmata Rhinonyssidae from Texas USA. Acarologia. vol 18, no 4. p. 594-601.
 * Swanson DL, Carlisle HA & Liknes ET. (2003). Abundance and richness of Neotropical migrants during stopover at farmstead woodlots and associated habitats in southeastern South Dakota. American Midland Naturalist. vol 149, no 1. p. 176-191.
 * White GC & Bennetts RE. (1996). Analysis of frequency count data using the negative binomial distribution. Ecology. vol 77, no 8. p. 2549-2557.