Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens halseii. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, December 2006. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens nigrescens. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, December 2018. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens nigrescens. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, January 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens nigrescens, Female. Photograph taken within a residential community in Alamos, Sonora, February 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Background and Identification

The Black-throated Gray Warbler, Setophaga nigrescens halseii and Sttophaga nigrescens nigrescens, are the two subspecies of the Black-throated Gray Warbler that are mid-sized members of the Parulidae Family of New World Warblers. The Parulidae Family has one hundred and eleven individual species that have been placed into eighteen genera. They are one of thirty-four global members of the Setophaga Genus. This species is small and striking, known for its distinctive markings and agile foraging behavior. They forage by gleaning, with their diets consisting almost exclusively of insects. The Black-throated Gray Warbler has been poorly studied and very limited information about their behavioral patterns and biology has been documented. In Mexico, the Black-throated Gray Warbler is called Chipe de Garganta Negra.

The Black-throated Gray Warbler has black, white, and gray plumage with a very small yellow spot on the lores. Adult males have a black head and throat interrupted by broad white areas and have gray underparts with black streaks on the back and two white wing bars. The females are similar in color but duller and their chin is white and the black throat patch is mixed with white. Their bills are black and become slightly brown in the fall; their iris is brown, and, their legs and feet are black to dusky brown, and the soles of their toes are dull yellow.

Habitat and Geographical Range

The Black-throated Gray Warbler prefers a variety of woodland and forested habitats, including pine-oak woodlands, mixed coniferous forests, and scrubby areas with dense underbrush. They inhabit mid-elevations between 600 m (2,000 feet) and 3,000 m (9,800 feet). They are a resilient species, inhabiting areas with temperature ranges from 0°C to 38°C.

The Black-throated Gray Warbler is a migrant species that spends time in the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. During the breeding season, both subspecies are commonly found in the western United States, from the Pacific Coast to the Rocky Mountains, and into parts of southwestern Canada. In winter, the halseii subspecies are found in Baja California, Baja California Sur, and northeast Sonora whereas the nigrescens subspecies are found in western Mexico on the Pacific Slope, and the interior from southern Sonora, Durango, Zacatecas, and Coahuila south to Oaxaca.

Common Misidentifications

The Black-throated Gray Warbler can be confused with other small, gray songbirds, such as the Black-and-white Warbler, Mniotila varia, and the Gray Vireo, Vireo vininior. The Black-and-white Warbler has a similar streaked appearance but is distinguished by its more pronounced black-and-white striping and different foraging behavior, often creeping along tree trunks and branches like a nuthatch. The Gray Vireo, on the other hand, lacks the distinctive black throat and facial markings of the Black-throated Gray Warbler and has a more uniform gray coloration with a white eye ring.

Conservation Status

From a conservation perspective the Black-throated Gray Warbler is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are resilient to urban areas and drastic temperature changes, and can often be found near human development.