Male Black-throated Blue Warbler © Mark Peck
“This is a real wood warbler. It loves the woods.”—Edward Howe Forbush, 1929
The Black-throated Blue Warbler has a relatively small breeding range that extends from Nova Scotia westward to Lake Superior. Some of these warblers breed in suitable habitat as far south as Georgia, but almost all “suitable habitat” south of Pennsylvania exists only in the Appalachian Mountains. Black-throated Blue Warblers reside primarily in mature hardwood forests, where they make their nests in dense understory growth, particularly where mountain laurel abounds. Predictably, this species suffered a significant decline in Massachusetts when much of the old-growth forest was cut down to make way for agriculture.
Black-throated Blue Warbler range map © Birds of North America
Trend in Massachusetts
The Black-throated Blue Warbler is increasing in MA and expanding their range eastward in the state.
Did You Know?
The male and female Black-throated Blue Warbler look so different from one another that they were originally thought to be two separate species. The female Black-throated Blue Warbler is also know as John James Audubon‘s “extra warbler” because he painted a separate plate for his Elephant Folio of the Birds of North America of what he thought was a “Pine Swamp Warbler” but was actually a female Black-throated Blue.
Female Black-throated Blue Warbler © Kenneth Cole Schneider