The flame-throated warbler (''Oreothlypis gutturalis'') is a small
New World warbler
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most ...
. It is sometimes placed in the genera ''Vermivora'' and ''Parula''.
Description
The adult flame-throated warbler is long and weighs . It has slate grey upper parts, with black on the back, lores, and around the eye. It has a vermilion throat and breast which contrast with the whitish belly. The sexes are almost identical, but the black mask is more extensive in the male. The young bird is browner above, duller below, and has a weak buff eyestripe and wing bars.
[
The call of this warbler is a sharp ''chit''. The song is a buzzing ''pi pipipipi shwaaaa''.
]
Distribution and habitat
This species is a resident breeder within the Talamancan montane forests
The Talamancan montane forests ecoregion, in the tropical moist broadleaf forest biome, are in montane Costa Rica and western Panama in Central America.
Setting
The Talamancan montane forests cover a discontinuous area of in Cordilleran mountain ...
of Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
and western Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, where it occurs in the canopy, woodland edges, and clearings with trees typically from up to the timberline. On the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
slope in the wet season it may occur down to as low as .
Behaviour
The deep cup nest, always sheltered above by epiphyte
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
s or mosses, is built in a tree or on a low bank. Two white eggs are laid between March and May.[
The flame-throated warbler feeds on ]caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s, insects and spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s picked off the foliage with its sharp pointed bill. It is territorial when breeding, but will join feeding flocks of insectivorous birds at other times.[
]
References
* Curson, J., Quinn, D. & Beadle, D. (1994). ''New World Warblers''. Helm.
Further reading
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1409464
flame-throated warbler
The flame-throated warbler (''Oreothlypis gutturalis'') is a small New World warbler. It is sometimes placed in the genera ''Vermivora'' and ''Parula''.
Description
The adult flame-throated warbler is long and weighs . It has slate grey upper p ...
Birds of the Talamancan montane forests
flame-throated warbler
The flame-throated warbler (''Oreothlypis gutturalis'') is a small New World warbler. It is sometimes placed in the genera ''Vermivora'' and ''Parula''.
Description
The adult flame-throated warbler is long and weighs . It has slate grey upper p ...