Pine warbler

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pine warbler (90070).jpg | image_caption = Adult male | image2 = Pine Warbler - female.jpg | image2_caption = Female | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2021 |title=''Setophaga pinus'' |volume=2021 |article-number=e.T22721719A137255800 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22721719A137255800.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Setophaga | species = pinus | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) | range_map = Dendroica_pinus_map.svg | range_map_caption = Range of ''S. pinus'' (note: missing range on [[Hispaniola]]) {{leftlegend|#FFFF00|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#008000|Year-round range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#0000FF|Wintering range|outline=gray}} | synonyms = *''Certhia pinus'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} *''Dendroica pinus'' {{small|(Linnaeus, 1766)}} *''Sylvia pinus'' {{small|[[Alexander Wilson (ornithologist)|Wilson]], 1811}}<ref>{{ cite book | last=Wilson | first=Alexander | author-link=Alexander Wilson (ornithologist) | year=1811 | title=American Ornithology; or, the Natural History of the Birds of the United States: Illustrated with Plates Engraved and Colored from Original drawings taken from Nature | volume=3 | location=Philadelphia | publisher=Bradford and Inskeep | page=25, Plate 19 fig. 4 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46337741 }}</ref> *''Dendroica vigorsii'' {{small|(Audubon, 1831)}} *''Sylvia pinus'' {{small|(Linnaeus, 1766)}} *''Sylvia vigorsii'' {{small|Audubon, 1831}} }}

The '''pine warbler''' ('''''Setophaga pinus''''') is a small [[songbird]] of the [[New World warbler]] family [[Parulidae]]. It is a permanent resident in the southeastern United States and also breeds in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States, where it is migratory. Unlike other wood-warblers, in addition to insects the pine warbler also sometimes consumes seeds.

==Taxonomy== The pine warbler was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Certhia pinus''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae: per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | page=187 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946383 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his entry on the "pine-creeper" that had been described and illustrated by the English naturalists [[Mark Catesby]] in 1731 and [[George Edwards (naturalist)|George Edwards]] in 1760.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Catesby | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Catesby | year=1729–1732 | title=The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands | volume=1 | location=London | publisher=W. Innys and R. Manby | language=English, French | page=61, plate 61 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40753301 }} Published in 11 parts. For the dates see: {{ cite journal | last=Overstreet | first=Leslie K. | date=2014 | title=The dates of the parts of Mark Catesby's ''The Natural History of Carolina ...'' (London, 1731–1743 [1729–1747]) | journal=Archives of Natural History | volume=41 | issue=2 | pages=362–364 | doi=10.3366/anh.2014.0256 }}</ref><ref name=edwards>{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1760 | title=Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants &c... | language=English, French | volume=2 | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author, at the College of Physicians | page=139, plate 277 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57914846 }}</ref> Edwards had doubts as to whether his specimen was the same species as illustrated by Catesby and included as a footnote "On a stricter examination I think it a species different from Catesby's".<ref name=edwards/> Edwards' etching actually depicted a [[blue-winged warbler]] so that Linnaeus's name applied to two different species. This led to considerable instability in the nomenclature which was only resolved when in 2009 a new binomial name, ''Vermivora cyanoptera'', was proposed by [[Storrs L. Olson]] and [[James L. Reveal]] for the blue-winged warbler.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Olson | first1=S.L. | author1-link=Storrs L. Olson | last2=Reveal | first2=J.L. | author2-link=James L. Reveal | date=2009 | title=Nomenclatural history and a new name for the Blue-winged Warbler (Aves: Parulidae) | journal=Wilson Journal of Ornithology | volume=121 | issue=3 | pages=618–620 | jstor=20616949 | doi=10.1676/09-003.1 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1=Chesser | first1=R Terry | last2=Banks | first2=Richard C | last3=Barker | first3=F Keith | last4=Cicero | first4=Carla | last5=Dunn | first5=Jon L | last6=Kratter | first6=Andrew W | last7=Lovette | first7=Irby J | last8=Rasmussen | first8=Pamela C | last9=Remsen | first9=JV Jr | last10=Rising | first10=James D | last11=Stotz | first11=Douglas F | last12=Winker | first12=Kevin | year=2010 | title=Fifty-First Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-List of North American Birds |journal=The Auk |volume=127 | issue=3 |pages=726–744 [736] |doi=10.1525/auk.2010.127.4.966 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[type location (biology)|type location]] was restricted to the state of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] by the [[American Ornithologists' Union]] in 1931.<ref>{{ cite book | author=Committee on Classification and Nomenclature| year=1931 | title=Check-list of North American Birds | edition=4th | location=Lancaster, Pennsylvania | publisher=American Ornithologists' Union | page=291 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/5824081 }}</ref> The pine warbler is now one of over 30 species placed in the [[genus]] ''[[Setophaga]]'' that was introduced by the English naturalist [[William Swainson]] in 1827.<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=February 2025 | title=New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 15.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/warblers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=10 September 2025 }}</ref> The genus name ''Setophaga'' combines the [[Ancient Greek]] σης/''sēs'', σητος/''sētos'' meaning "moth" with -φαγος/''-phagos'' meaning "-eating".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=Setophaga | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Setophaga | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=10 September 2025 }}</ref>

Four [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/> * ''S. p. pinus'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) – breeds southeast Canada and east USA * ''S. p. florida'' ([[Charles Johnson Maynard|Maynard]], 1906) – south Florida * ''S. p. achrustera'' ([[Outram Bangs|Bangs]], 1900) – Bahamas * ''S. p. chrysoleuca'' ([[Ludlow Griscom|Griscom]], 1923) – [[Hispaniola]]

== Description == These birds have white bellies, two white wing bars, dark legs and thin, relatively long pointed [[beak|bill]]s; they have yellowish 'spectacles' around their eyes. Adult males have olive upperparts and bright yellow throats and breasts; females and immatures display upperparts which are olive-brown. Their throats and breasts are paler. The adult male pine warbler looks somewhat similar to the [[yellow-throated vireo]] which may cause some identification problems.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 87%;" |- ! colspan="2" | Standard Measurements<ref name=BOC /><ref name=Sibley /> |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Total Body Length|Total Body Length]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|5|-|5.75|in|mm|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Weight|Weight]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|12|g|oz|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Wingspan|Wingspan]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|8.75|in|mm|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Wing|Wing]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|68.9|-|72.8|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Tail|Tail]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|52.9|-|56|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Culmen|Culmen]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|9.9|-|11.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} |- | style="padding-right: 1em;padding-left:0.35em;" | [[Bird measurement#Tarsus|Tarsus]] || style="padding-right: 0.5em;padding-left:0.5em;" | {{convert|17.2|-|18.7|mm|in|abbr=on}} |}

The song of this bird is a musical trill. Their calls are slurred ''chip''s.

== Distribution and habitat == Their breeding habitats are open [[pine]] woods in eastern [[North America]]. These birds are permanent residents in southern [[Florida]]. Some of them, however, [[bird migration|migrate]] to northeastern [[Mexico]] and islands in [[Bermuda]] and the [[Caribbean]]. The first record for [[South America]] was a vagrant wintering female seen at [[Vista Nieve]], [[Colombia]], on 20 November 2002; this bird was foraging as part of a [[mixed-species feeding flock]] that also included wintering [[Blackburnian warbler|Blackburnian]] and [[Tennessee warbler]]s.<ref name=Strewe2004/>

== Behavior == They forage slowly on tree trunks and branches by poking their bill into pine cones. These birds also find food by searching for it on the ground. These birds mainly eat insects, seeds and berries.

Their nests are deep, open cups, which are placed near the end of a tree branch. Pine warblers prefer to nest in pine trees, hence their names. Three to five blotched white eggs are laid.<ref name=BOC />

==References==  {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=BOC>{{cite book |last=Godfrey |first=W. Earl |date=1966 |title=The Birds of Canada |location=Ottawa |publisher=National Museum of Canada |page=338}}</ref>

<ref name=Sibley>{{cite book |last=Sibley |first=David Allen |author-link=David Allen Sibley |date=2000 |title=The Sibley Guide to Birds |location=New York |publisher=Knopf |page=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/442 442] |isbn=0-679-45122-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0/page/442 }}</ref>

<ref name=Strewe2004>{{cite journal |last1=Strewe |first1=Ralf |last2=Navarro |first2=Cristobal |year=2004 |title=New and noteworthy records of birds from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, north-eastern Colombia |journal=[[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club]] |volume=124 |issue=1 |pages=38–51 |url=http://www.alpec.org/Articulo%20BBOC/Strewe%20&%20Navarro%202004%20BBOC%20124%20(1).pdf |access-date=2020-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231225615/http://www.alpec.org/Articulo%20BBOC/Strewe%20%26%20Navarro%202004%20BBOC%20124%20%281%29.pdf |archive-date=2005-12-31 }}</ref> }}

==External links== {{Wikispecies|Setophaga pinus}} * {{InternetBirdCollection|pine-warbler-dendroica-pinus|Pine warbler}} * [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6710id.html Pine warbler - ''Dendroica pinus''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter * [https://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Pine_Warbler.html Pine warbler species account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology * [http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/index.php/download_file/view/1336/724/ Pine warbler bird sound] at Florida Museum of Natural History * {{BirdLife|22721719|Dendroica pinus}} * {{VIREO|Pine+warbler}} * {{Xeno-canto species|Setophaga|pinus|Pine warbler}}

<!-- ==Further reading== {{Commons category|Setophaga pinus}} ===Books===

* Rodewald, P. G., J. H. Withgott, and K. G. Smith. 1999. ''Pine Warbler (Dendroica pinus)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 438 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

===Thesis===

* Azevedo JC. Ph.D. (2003). ''A comparison of the environmental effects of traditional intensive forestry and the sustainable forestry initiative: A modeling approach at the landscape level''. Texas A&M University, United States, Texas. * Kristensen DR. M.Sc. (1996). ''An assessment of the songbird habitat quality of red pine plantations in eastern Ontario''. Queen's University at Kingston (Canada), Canada. * Laterza KJ. M.S.F. (1999). ''Effects of prescribed burning frequency on avian communities in a longleaf pine ecosystem''. Stephen F. Austin State University, United States, Texas. * Sladek BG. M.S. (2006). ''Timber growth and avian community responses to prescribed fire and selective herbicide in thinned, mid-rotation afforested loblolly pine plantations in Mississippi''. Mississippi State University, United States, Mississippi.

===Articles===

* Azevedo JC, Wu XB, Messina MG & Fisher RF. (2005). ''Assessment of sustainability in intensively managed forested landscapes: A case study in eastern Texas''. Forest Science. vol '''51''', no 4. p. 321-333. * Betts MG, Franklin SE & Taylor RG. (2003). ''Interpretation of landscape pattern and habitat change for local indicator species using satellite imagery and geographic information system data in New Brunswick, Canada''. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. vol '''33''', no 10. p. 1821-1831. * Birch A. (1994). ''Yellow-throated Vireo: New to Britain and Ireland''. British Birds. vol '''87''', no 8. * Bowman R, Leonard DL Jr., Backus LK & Mains AR. (1999). ''Interspecific interactions with foraging Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in south-central Florida''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''111''', no 3. p. 346-353. * Brush T & Stiles EW. (1990). ''Habitat Use by Breeding Birds in the New Jersey USA Pine Barrens''. Bulletin New Jersey Academy of Science. vol '''35''', no 2. p. 13-16. * Burley JB. (1989). ''Multi-Model Habitat Suitability Index Analysis in the Red River Valley Minnesota USA''. Landscape & Urban Planning. vol '''17''', no 3. p. 261-280. * Childers EL & Sharik TL. (1981). ''Pine Warbler Dendroica-Pinus Use of Thinned Loblolly Pine Pinus-Taeda Plantations Following Ice Damage''. Transactions of the Northeast Section the Wildlife Society. vol '''38''', no 106. * Collins SL, James FC & Risser PG. (1982). ''Habitat Relationships of Wood Warblers Parulidae in Northern Central Minnesota USA''. Oikos. vol '''39''', no 1. p. 50-58. * Conner RN, Dickson JG, Locke BA & Segelquist CA. (1983). ''Vegetation Characteristics Important to Common Song Birds in East Texas USA''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''95''', no 3. p. 349-361. * Cooper RJ, Dodge KM, Martinat PJ, Donahoe SB & Whitmore RC. (1990). ''Effect of Diflubenzuron Application on Eastern Deciduous Forest Birds''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '''54''', no 3. p. 486-493. * Durden LA, Oliver JH Jr. & Kinsey AA. (2001). ''Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) and spirochetes (Spirochaetaceae: Spirochaetales) recovered from birds on a Georgia Barrier Island''. Journal of Medical Entomology. vol '''38''', no 2. p. 231-236. * Emlen JT. (1981). ''Divergence in the Foraging Responses of Birds on 2 Bahama Islands''. Ecology. vol '''62''', no 2. p. 289-295. * Emlen JT & Dejong MJ. (1981). ''Intrinsic Factors in the Selection of Foraging Substrates by Pine Warblers Dendroica-Pinus a Test of an Hypothesis''. Auk. vol '''98''', no 2. p. 294-298. * Ferguson D. (1997). ''Bay-breasted warbler in Cornwall: New to Britain and Ireland''. British Birds. vol '''90''', no 10. p. 444-448. * Gaddis P. (1980). ''Mixed Flocks Accipiters and Anti Predator Behavior''. Condor. vol '''82''', no 3. p. 348-349. * Haney JC & Lydic J. (1999). ''Avifauna and vegetation structure in an old-growth oak-pine forest on the Cumberland Plateau, Tennessee (USA)''. Natural Areas Journal. vol '''19''', no 3. p. 199-210. * Homann PH. (2003). ''American Goldfinches associate with Pine Warblers in north Florida''. Florida Field Naturalist. vol '''31''', no 3. * James FC, McCulloch CE & Wolfe LE. (1990). ''Methodological Issues the Estimation of Trends in Bird Populations with an Example the Pine Warbler''. U S Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Report. vol '''90''', no 1. p. 84-96. * Kerlinger P & Doremus C. (1981). ''Habitat Disturbance and the Decline of Dominant Avian Species in Pine Barrens of the Northeastern USA''. American Birds. vol '''35''', no 1. p. 16-20. * Levey DJ, Place AR, Rey PJ & del Rio CM. (1999). ''An experimental test of dietary enzyme modulation in pine warblers Dendroica pinus''. Physiological & Biochemical Zoology. vol '''72''', no 5. p. 576-587. * McNair DB. (1986). ''Past Breeding Distribution of Eleven Species in Georgia USA Based on Nest Records from Egg Data Slips''. Oriole. vol '''51''', no 2-3. p. 28-31. * Murray NL & Stauffer DF. (1995). ''Nongame bird use of habitat in central Appalachian riparian forests''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '''59''', no 1. p. 78-88. * Niemi GJ, Hanowski JM, Lima AR, Nicholls T & Weiland N. (1997). ''A critical analysis on the use of indicator species in management''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '''61''', no 4. p. 1240-1252. * Provencher L, Gobris NM & Brennan LA. (2002). ''Effects of hardwood reduction on winter birds in northwest Florida longleaf pine sandhill forests''. Auk. vol '''119''', no 1. p. 71-87. * Rutledge BT & Conner LM. (2002). ''Potential effects of groundcover restoration on breeding bird communities in longleaf pine stands''. Wildlife Society Bulletin. vol '''30''', no 2. p. 354-360. * Sample BE, Cooper RJ & Whitmore RC. (1993). ''DIETARY SHIFTS AMONG SONGBIRDS FROM A DIFLUBENZURON-TREATED FOREST''. Condor. vol '''95''', no 3. p. 616-624. * Schulte LA, Pidgeon AM & Mladenoff DJ. (2005). ''One hundred fifty years of change in forest bird breeding habitat: Estimates of species distributions''. Conservation Biology. vol '''19''', no 6. p. 1944-1956. * Tyler JD. (2000). ''Noteworthy bird records for southwestern Oklahoma and north central Texas''. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. vol '''80''', p. 111-114. * Van Horne B & Wiens JA. (1991). ''Forest Bird Habitat Suitability Models and the Development of General Habitat Models''. U S Fish & Wildlife Service Fish & Wildlife Research. vol '''8''', p. 1-30. * Willson MF & Comet TA. (1993). ''Food choices by northwestern crows: Experiments with captive, free-ranging and hand-raised birds''. Condor. vol '''95''', no 3. p. 596-615. -->

[[Category:Setophaga|pine warbler]] [[Category:Native birds of Eastern Canada]] [[Category:Native birds of the Eastern United States]] [[Category:Birds of the Bahamas]] [[Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Birds described in 1811|pine warbler]] [[Category:Birds of the United States]] [[Category:Least concern biota of the United States]]