#peucedramus

[herpsandbirds]

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus), family Peucedramidae, order Passeriformes, Mt. Lemmon, AZ, USA

This bird is neither olive, nor is it a warbler.

The Olive Warbler was placed in the wood warbler family Parulidae, but was later moved into its own family, due to genetic data.

Olive Warblers are more closely related to finches and sparrows.

photograph by Ben Knoot

[proton-wobbler]

Not-Warbler Showdown Finale: Bracket 10

Choose your (not) Warbler

Gray-throated Chat

Wrenthrush

Olive Warbler

Voting ended onJul 28, 2024

Gray-throated Chat (Granatellus sallaei)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; southern Mexico, especially the Yucatan, as well as Belize and Guatemala

Habitat: lowland forests and their edges in dry and semi-humid areas

Subspecies: 2

Wrenthrush (Zeledonia coronata)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; Costa Rica to western Panama, purely in the highlands

Habitat: montane evergreen and elfin forests, especially near streams; a big fan of wet, fog-covered regions.

Subspecies: none

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: semi-migratory; breeds from southern Arizona and New Mexico down to northern Nicaragua. The northern population (AZ, NM, Sinaloa, Nuevo Leon) move south for winter.

Habitat: prefers open forests heavy with pine, fir and an understory with oak.

Subspecies: 5

Image Sources: Grey (Luke Seitz); Wrenthrush (Leonardo Valverde); Olive (Bryan Calk)

[wonder-rooms]

The Red-Crowned Barbet & Olive-Coloured Warbler, Nouvelles Illustrations de Zoologie (1776) - Peter Brown

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Peucedramus taeniatus

By Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY 2.0 

Etymology: Racer among the Pine Trees

First Described By: Coues, 1875

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Passerida, Peucedramidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Olive Warbler is known from Central America 

Physical Description: The Olive Warbler is a smaller bird, about 13 centimeters in length. The males have bright orange heads, with a black patch on the eye; grey bodies, white and black striped upper wings, with black and orange striped lower wings. Their bellies are white, and their tails are short and grey. The females are more yellowish where the males are orange, and have thinner white stripes across their wings. Brightness of the orange or yellow coloration varies from population to population; the juveniles are a dull olive in color. They have very thin, sharp beaks.

Diet: Olive Warblers feed mainly on insects and other arthropods.

Behavior: This bird forages from the middle level of the trees through higher levels, though they do occasionally go to the ground to pick up items of food. They creep along the pine branches, using its slender beak to probe into crevices in the bark and in clumps of pine needles. It will also fly to capture prey that they get rustle from foliage, and will sometimes hover while foraging. They form small groups to feed and sometimes join mixed-species flocks to forage during the winter time. They sing a two note call that is repeated four to five times, sometimes with a little bit of a warble at the end. They also make short hard calls to verify the whereabouts of others in their groups. 

By Ron Knight, CC BY 2.0 

These birds are mostly resident, though they do migrate from time to time. Birds in Arizona and New Mexico will move away from their breeding grounds, possibly down the slope to the Valley of Mexico and into Texas; though some still stay in their northern range year-round. These migrations happen in March. They then commence their breeding season in May, laying eggs in nests made of mosses, lichens, and rootlets. These nests are placed high up in the conifers. They lay clutches of three to four eggs. These eggs then hatch in June through July, where they remain in the nest; they probably fledge in August, but stay with their parents. 

Ecosystem: The Olive Warbler lives mainly in open pine and fir forests, especially in the Valley of Mexico, within humid and semi-arid forests. They vary in what they prefer based on elevation and location.

Other: These unique birds are actually in their own group, not closely related to any other sort of passerine. It is good, then, that it is very common in most of its range! There are estimated to be two million of these birds throughout Central America. There has been some distress to their populations due to selective logging.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

Curson, J. (2019). Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

Lowther, Peter E. and Jorge Nocedal. 1997. Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

[hello-birdies]

Peucedramus taeniatus by Jose Oswaldo Juarez Rodriguez 

[herpsandbirds]

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus), family Peucedramidae, order Passeriformes, found in much of Mexico and in AZ and NM in the United States.

This bird is neither olive, nor is it a warbler.

The Olive Warbler was placed in the wood warbler family Parulidae, but was later placed into its own family, due to genetic data.

Olive Warblers are more closely related to finches and sparrows.

photos by Ron Knight & Matthew Studebaker

[herpsandbirds]

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus), family Peucedramidae, order Passeriformes, found in much of Mexico and in AZ and NM in the United States.

This bird is neither olive, nor is it a warbler.

The Olive Warbler was placed in the wood warbler family Parulidae, but was later moved into its own family, due to genetic data.

Olive Warblers are more closely related to finches and sparrows.

photograph by Jamie Cunningham

[herpsandbirds]

Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus), family Peucedramidae, order Passeriformes, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ, USA

This bird was placed in the wood warbler family Parulidae, but was placed into its own family, due to genetic data.

photograph by Greg Lavaty