Elfin woods warbler

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Elfin woods warbler
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Setophaga
Species:
S. angelae
Binomial name
Setophaga angelae
(Kepler & Parkes, 1972)
Range of the elfin woods warbler:
  Extant (resident)
  Extant (passage)
Synonyms

Dendroica angelae[2]

The elfin woods warbler (Setophaga angelae) is a species of

endemic to Puerto Rico, where it is local and uncommon. Discovered in 1968 and described in 1972, it is the most recently described New World warbler (family
Parulidae).

The species name, angelae, is a tribute to Angela Kepler, one of its discoverers. These birds are insectivores, as they feed by gleaning small insects off the habitat leaves.

Due to its small populations and restricted

habitats, conservation efforts were begun in 1982 to protect this species, but as of 2005, the warbler was still in need of protection. The species is not in immediate danger as the majority of its habitat is protected forest, but introduced species (such as rats and small Asian mongooses), habitat reduction
, and natural disasters represent potential threats to the population.

Discovery, taxonomy and naming

The elfin woods warbler is one of many species in the

American Ornithologists' Union reorganized the classification of the family Parulidae and transferred species in Dendroica to Setophaga.[4][5] This revised classification was subsequently adopted by the International Ornithologists' Union.[5]

The genus name is a combination of the Ancient Greek words ses, meaning "moth", and phagos, meaning "eating".[6] The specific name, angelae, is a tribute to Angela Kepler.[2] Elfin-woods warbler is an alternative spelling, and Reinita de Bosque Enano is the Spanish name.[7][8]

Description

The elfin woods warbler is a small

Juveniles differ from adults, retaining a grayish-green back for approximately a year and partially molting from July to October.[9]

Similar species

Black-and-white warbler, a species commonly mistaken for the elfin woods warbler[11]

The elfin woods warbler can be confused with the black-and-white warbler, a non-breeding visitor that occurs in Puerto Rico from mid-September to early May. The main physical distinction between the two is in the face. The elfin woods warbler has an incomplete white eye-ring, while the black-and-white warbler has a bold white supercilium above the eye, and the lower half of a white eye-ring. The elfin woods warbler has an entirely black crown while the black-and-white warbler's is bisected by a white stripe. The latter species tends to forage on larger branches, while the elfin woods warbler forages in the canopy and on smaller branch tips.[11]

Voice

Dickcissel male perched on a metal pole singing, with neck stretched and beak open.

Songs and calls
Listen to Elfin woods warbler on xeno-canto

The elfin woods warbler's song and call are difficult to hear. The species has a subtle voice and its call and song resemble those of the bananaquit, the most abundant bird in Puerto Rico. The song is a series of "short, rapidly uttered, rather unmusical notes on one pitch, swelling in volume and terminating with a short series of distinct double syllables sounding slightly lower in pitch"[12] while the call has been described as "a single, short, metallic chip".[12]

Behavior

Breeding

The elfin woods warbler breeds from March to June. Both parents are involved in the construction of the

maximum leaves. The interior is made from fibers of C. abietifolia, dry leaves and other plant matter.[14] Females lay two or three white eggs with red-brown spots.[15] The chick's diet consists of insects—parents have been observed offering lepidopteran and orthopteran adults and lepidopteran larvae to hatchlings.[14]

Feeding

The elfin woods warbler is commonly found

canopy for insects.[9] While searching for food it often flocks with other birds, such as black-and-white warblers, Puerto Rican tanagers and Lesser Antillean pewees. Three maneuvers used for catching prey—gleaning, sally-hovering and probing—have been described.[9] Gleaning is described as a hunting maneuver made by a standing or moving bird. Sally-hovering is a hunting maneuver made by a bird in flight. Probing is a maneuver in which the bird, by digging with its beak, forages the substrate looking for food in a manner similar to chickens.[9] Gleaning, especially off leaves, is the maneuver used with more frequency by the elfin woods warbler while probing is the least used.[9]

Distribution and habitat

When first discovered, the elfin woods warbler was believed to exclusively occur in the high elevation, from 640 to 1,030 meters (2,100 to 3,380 ft), dwarf or

Palo Colorado forests.[16] Three more populations were discovered in the Maricao State Forest (1972, largest known population), the Carite State Forest (1977) and the Toro Negro State Forest (late 1970s).[13]

The species is presumed extirpated from two locales, occurring only at El Yunque National Forest and the Maricao State Forest.

xeric than expected. The species's highest density occurs in Podocarpus forests in the Maricao State Forest. Little information is available on the elfin forests at Toro Negro and Carite.[16]

Status and conservation

Population

Bird count of the elfin woods warbler (2001)

In September 1989,

IUCN assessment of the elfin woods warbler, prepared in 2000, estimated a stable population of 600 mature individuals.[19] In 2020 the population was estimated to comprise at least 1800 mature individuals, a figure which equates to at least 2700 individual birds.[1][20]

Threats

Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, a natural predator of the elfin woods warbler

The elfin woods warbler faces two main threats: predation, and the destruction or alteration of suitable habitat. The

hurricanes have also decimated habitat.[12]

Protection

The elfin woods warbler was placed on the United States federal candidate list for the

Bush administration to admit 225 species, including the elfin woods warbler, to Endangered Species Act protections.[22]

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) first evaluated the status of the elfin woods warbler in 1988. At the time, it was given a classification of lower risk/least concern. Its status was changed to lower risk/near threatened in 1994, to vulnerable in 2000, and to endangered in 2017. The organization justified the warbler's move to endangered status due to the combination of its very small range and its continuing decline due to habitat destruction and degradation.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22721749A180061064.en
    . Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  2. ^
    JSTOR 4084056
    .
  3. PMID 20696258
    .
  4. S2CID 13691956
    .
  5. ^
    Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2020). "New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  6. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  7. S2CID 216471275
    . Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  8. US Fish & Wildlife Service
    . Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Cruz, Alexander; Delannoy, Carlos A. (1984). "Ecology of the Elfin-woods Warbler (Dendroica Angelae) II". Caribbean Journal of Science. 20 (3–4): 153–62.
  10. ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
    .
  11. ^
    ISBN 0292791011
    .
  12. ^ a b c Cuevas, Victor M. "El Yunque National Forest: Elfin-woods Warbler". USDA Forest Service. Retrieved March 19, 2006.
  13. ^ a b c Anadón Irrizary, Verónica (2006). Distribution, habitat occupancy and population density of the Elfin-woods Warbler. MS Thesis. University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.
  14. ^ a b c Arroyo Vázquez, Bryan (June 1992). "Observations of the breeding biology of the Elfin Woods Warbler" (PDF). The Wilson Bulletin. 104 (2): 362–65.
  15. ^ Rodríguez-Mojica, Rafael (2004). "First report of cavity-nesting in Elfin-woods Warbler Dendroica angelae at Maricao State Forest, Puerto Rico" (PDF). Cotinga. 22: 21–23.
  16. ^ a b "Candidate and Listing Priority Assignment Form – Elfin woods Warbler" (PDF). 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 24, 2006. Retrieved March 19, 2006.
  17. ^ "Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form – Elfin woods Warbler" (PDF). 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  18. ^ Arroyo Vázquez, B. (2001). Comparative study of foraging behavior and habitat selection of resident wood warblers (Dendroica) in southwestern Puerto Rico (Thesis). Fayetteville, USA: University of Arkansas.
  19. ^ BirdLife International. (2000). "Setophaga angelae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000: e.T22721749A27082634. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  20. ^ "Elfin Woods Warbler Dendroica angelae". Species factsheet. BirdLife International. 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  21. ^ "Elfin-woods warbler (Setophaga angelae)". ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  22. ^ Lucas, Tim (April 5, 2004). "A Coalition for Conservation". Archived from the original on November 7, 2005. Retrieved March 19, 2006.

Further reading

External links

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