Wilson's warbler

Wilson's warbler was formally described in 1811 by the ornithologist Alexander Wilson under the binomial name Muscicapa pusilla. The type locality is southern New Jersey. The species was moved to the genus Wilsonia by the naturalist and ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1838. Zoologist Thomas Nuttall moved it to Sylvania in 1840, and by 1845, many authors included it in Myiodioctes. In 1899, the American Ornithological Union returned the species to Wilsonia. The species is currently assigned to the genus Cardellina. The genus name Cardellina is a diminutive of the Italian dialect Cardella, a name for the European goldfinch, and the specific epithet pusilla means "very small". There are three recognized subspecies: • C. p. pusilla was described by Alexander Wilson in 1811. • C. p. pileolata was described by German naturalist Peter Simon Pallas in 1811. where luxury resort and residential developments have replaced the bird's habitat. ==Description==

Wilson's warbler is a small passerine, ranging from in length, with a wingspan of and a mass of . It has a plain green-brown back and yellow underparts. The male has a small black cap. Males of the western race C. p. chryseola are greener above and brighter than males of the eastern, nominate race. Individuals from Alaska and the west-central portion of the species' range average slightly larger than those found in eastern and Pacific coastal populations. ==Distribution and habitat==

The breeding habitat is fairly open woodland with undergrowth or shrubs and thickets in moist areas with streams, ponds, bogs, and wet clearings. Wilson's warbler breeds in northern Canada and the western US; it winters in overgrown clearings and coffee plantations, forest edges, deciduous forests, tropical evergreens, pine-oak forests, mangroves, thorn-scrub, riparian gallery forests, brushy fields, and mixed forests. At all seasons, it prefers secondary growth, riparian habitats, lakes, montane and boreal forests with overgrown clearcuts. It is a very rare vagrant to Western Europe. ==Behavior and ecology==

Breeding Nesting generally begins in early March in west coast populations, and extends into August in the northern range. Some of these insects include beetles, bees, or caterpillars. Wilson's warbler is an active forager, moving rapidly through shrubs, on the ground, and sometimes in taller trees during the winter. The observed feeding rate of the male Wilson's warbler was not significantly different between males with or without mates. It also eats a few berries. ==References== ==External links==