The Oriente warbler (''Teretistris fornsi'') is one of two species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the Cuban warbler family

Teretistridae The Cuban warblers are a genus, ''Teretistris'', and family, Teretistridae, of birds endemic to Cuba and its surrounding cays. Until 2002 they were thought to be New World warblers, but DNA studies have shown that they are not closely related to ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to central and eastern

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The Oriente warbler shares its family and genus with the

yellow-headed warbler The yellow-headed warbler (''Teretistris fernandinae'') is one of two species of bird in the Cuban warbler family Teretistridae. It is endemic to western Cuba. Taxonomy and systematics The yellow-headed warbler shares its family and genus wit ...

(''T. fernandinae''). They were originally placed in the

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 ...

s (Parulidae) but phylogenetic studies of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA led to reassessment of several genera and in 2017 the Cuban warblers were moved to their own family. Their closest relatives are the four members of family

Spindalidae ''Spindalis'' is a genus consisting of four non-migratory species of bird. It is the only genus in the family Spindalidae. The species are mostly endemic to the West Indies; exceptions include populations of western spindalises on Cozumel Island ...

, the

yellow-breasted chat The yellow-breasted chat (''Icteria virens'') is a large songbird found in North America, and is the only member of the family Icteriidae. It was once a member of the New World warbler family, but in 2017, the American Ornithological Society move ...

(''Icteria virens''), and the New World blackbirds of family

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

. Chesser, R. T., S. M. Billerman, K. J. Burns, C. Cicero, J. L. Dunn, B. E. Hernández-Baños, R. A. Jiménez, A. W. Kratter, N. A. Mason, P. C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., D. F. Stotz, and K. Winker. 2022. Check-list of North American Birds (online). American Ornithological Society. https://checklist.aou.org/taxa The Oriente warbler has two subspecies, the

nominate Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...

''T. f. fornsi'' and ''T. f. turquinensis''.

Description

The Oriente warbler is about long and weighs . The nominate subspecies has a gray crown, nape, and upperparts. Its face, throat, and most of its underparts are yellow; its belly and undertail

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are s ...

are white and its flanks have a dull brownish wash. Subspecies ''T. f. turquinensis'' is slightly larger than the nominate; its crown and upperparts are sooty gray and the wash on its flanks is gray rather than brownish.Curson, J. (2020). Oriente Warbler (''Teretistris fornsi''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.oriwar1.01 retrieved October 11, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The nominate subspecies of Oriente warbler is found in the mountains and coast of eastern Cuba and the

Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago Sabana-Camagüey ( es, Archipiélago de Sabana-Camagüey ) is an archipelago that lies on Cuba's north-central Atlantic coast. It is located off the northern coast of the provinces of Matanzas, Villa Clara, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila and ...

off the main island's north coast. ''T. f. turquinensis'' is found in the

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view it a ...

along the southeastern Cuban coast. It inhabits all available forest types as long as they have a relatively undisturbed understory, and also scrubby thickets in drier areas. In elevation it ranges from sea level to almost . It tends to occur in scrubby semi-arid woodlands near the coast and in more humid forest at higher elevations.

Behavior

Movement

The Oriente warbler is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The Oriente warbler forages from the ground to the forest mid-level, mainly by gleaning but also by hover-gleaning and probing bark and clumps of dead leaves. Its major prey is beetles (

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

) but it feeds on other insects, other invertebrates, small lizards, and possibly small fruits. In the non-breeding season it often forages in flocks of up to about 15 of its species, which can be the nucleus of

mixed-species foraging flock A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These ar ...

Breeding

The Oriente warbler's breeding season is from March to July, with eggs laid in March and April. It makes a nest of moss, grass, rootlets, and other plant fibers. It usually places it in a clump of ''

Tillandsia ''Tillandsia'' is a genus of around 650 species of evergreen, perennial flowering plants in the family Bromeliaceae, native to the forests, mountains and deserts of northern Mexico and south-eastern United States, Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to ...

'' (an

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 ...

) about up on a branch or fork. The clutch is two or three eggs. The incubation period is eight or nine days and fledging occurs 10 to 11 days after hatch.

Vocalization

The Oriente warbler's song is " a series of buzzy notes interspersed with sweeter notes". Its calls include a "sharp 'tchip'."

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the Oriente warbler as being of Least Concern. It has a small range and its population size is unknown but believed to be stable. No immeditate threats have been identified. It is "probably common within its limited and rather discontinuous range."