Bachman's Warbler

The Bachman's Warbler  is one of the smallest warblers, the total length is between 4 to 4 and 1/2 inches. The male is olive green above, face and underparts yellow, throat patch and crown patch black. The female does not have the black throat; the upper parts are olive green, the forehead and underparts yellow, and the is crown grayish. Although little information is available on food habits, it is suspected Bachman's warblers eat insects and possibly ants. Nesting has been recorded from late March to early June, with clutch size usually being three or four eggs, but occasionally five. The birds begin migrating southward during July and apparently pass through Key West by early September.

The Bachman's warbler breeds in the Southeastern United States and winters in western Cuba and the Isle of Pines. Meager records indicate the birds migrated southward in late summer and returned in early spring, with one group apparently moving generally along the East Coast, and another skirting the Gulf Coast and continuing up the Mississippi Valley. The fact that a good portion of the migrants funneled through the Florida Keys is supported by a number of sightings at Key West, and a record of 21 of the birds being killed on March 3, 1889, when they struck the light at Sombrero Key. Exact population numbers are unavailable; but, the population is known to be extremely low.

Historic records indicate the Bachman's warbler nested in low, wet forested areas containing variable amounts of water, but usually with some water that was permanent such as  forested area with sweet gum, oaks, hickories, black gum, and other hardwoods; and where there was an opening in the forest canopy, the ground being covered with dense thickets of cane, palmetto, blackberry, gallberry, and other shrubs and vines. When not on or near their nests, which were located near the ground, the birds were observed high in the tree tops, especially during migration. No confirmed breeding records have been reported from the United States since the mid-1960s.

Information is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Endangered Species.