Blackburnian Warbler
Shenandoah National Park, VA.
Genetic analysis reveals that the Blackburnian Warbler is most closely related to the Bay-breasted Warbler. The two species overlap throughout much of their range, share approximately 97 percent of their genetic information, and may occasionally hybridize.
Because the birds prefer fully forested habitat, their numbers often decline when forests are fragmented by development, logging, or disease. For example, the species has largely disappeared from regions where woolly adelgids — invasive insect pests — have decimated fir and hemlock. These areas include the southern Appalachians as well as some New Jersey, New York, and New England forests.
Blackburnian Warbler
Shenandoah National Park, VA.
Genetic analysis reveals that the Blackburnian Warbler is most closely related to the Bay-breasted Warbler. The two species overlap throughout much of their range, share approximately 97 percent of their genetic information, and may occasionally hybridize.
Because the birds prefer fully forested habitat, their numbers often decline when forests are fragmented by development, logging, or disease. For example, the species has largely disappeared from regions where woolly adelgids — invasive insect pests — have decimated fir and hemlock. These areas include the southern Appalachians as well as some New Jersey, New York, and New England forests.