Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 4.7–5.1 in
12–13 cm - Wingspan
- 7.9 in
20 cm - Weight
- 0.2–0.5 oz
7–15 g
Other Names
- Paruline à dos noir (French)
- Chipe mejilla dorada, Chipe caridorado (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Golden-cheeked Warbler is the only bird species whose population nests entirely in the state of Texas.
- Although the Golden-cheeked Warbler nests in Texas and winters in Mexico and northern Central America, wayward individuals have turned up in Florida, the Virgin Islands, and off the coast of California.
Habitat
Forest
Breeds in oak-cedar association. Found in migration in a variety of open woodland, scrub, and thicket habitats. In winter known only from montane pine-oak association.
Food
Insects
Insects and spiders.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- White with dark speckles concentrated around the large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Description
Open cup woven of strips of juniper bark and insect silk, lined with fine grass, hair, or down. Placed in small tree.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Forages by gleaning from foliage and branches, sallying, and hovering at ends of branches; less frequently by hawking and hanging to glean from undersides of leaves.
Conservation
Endangered
Endangered species. Restricted breeding habitat shrinking and becoming more fragmented. Old-growth and mature second-growth juniper-oak woodlands used for breeding are climax communities in breeding range, and may take decades to recover from disturbance. Some areas may never regenerate after disturbance. Wintering areas are being cut down for timber.
Credits
- Ladd, C., and L. Gass. 1999. Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia). In The Birds of North America, No. 420 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.