Gray-breasted warbler

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Gray-breasted warbler
Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris) (8082776636) .jpg

Gray-breasted warbler ( Microligea palustris )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Phaenicophilidae
Genre : Microligea
Type : Gray-breasted warbler
Scientific name of the  genus
Microligea
Cory , 1884
Scientific name of the  species
Microligea palustris
(Cory, 1884)

The gray-breasted warbler ( Microligea palustris ) is a small songbird and the only representative of the genus Microligea . The distribution area is in Haiti and the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola . The IUCN lists them as “not at risk” (least concern).

features

Gray-breasted warbler reach a body length of 14.5 centimeters. The wing length is 6.03 to 6.64 centimeters in the male, and 5.61 to 6.78 centimeters in the female. Adult gray-breasted warblers of the nominate form have dark gray head plumage, a narrow white, interrupted eye ring and blackish reins . The upper coat is dark gray, the lower coat, like the rest of the upper side plumage, is dark olive green and the wings are blackish. The underside plumage is pale grayish with a whitish belly and under tail-covers. The beak and legs are blackish. Young birds in the first year are similar to the adult birds. The upper side plumage and the upper coat are washed out green, the iris is brown in the first autumn and the lower side plumage is washed out olive.

The subspecies Microligea p. vasta differs from the nominate form by its slightly paler overall color. The throat is whitish and the underside is whitish in the rear.

Habitat, Nutrition and Reproduction

Gray-breasted warblers are resident birds . The nominate form occurs mainly in thickets and in the dense undergrowth of higher altitudes. The subspecies Microligea p. vasta inhabits dry lowlands. When foraging for food, the species is usually kept in small groups with the snapper vireo ( Vireo nanus ) and sometimes with the mirror wood warbler ( Xenoligea montana ). They seek their food consisting of insects in the undergrowth and mostly in lower regions than the mirrored warbler. At higher altitudes it is incubated between May and June. The breeding in the lowlands may take place a little earlier. The bowl-shaped nest is built low in a bush or blackberry thicket , usually less than 1 meter above the ground. The clutch consists of two eggs.

Subspecies and distribution

  • Microligea p. palustris ( Cory , 1884) - Found in the highlands of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
  • Microligea p. vasta Wetmore & Lincoln, 1931 - Distributed in the southwest of the Dominican Republic, from Isla Beata and Barahona to Azua . Some individuals have also been seen in dry lowlands in northwest Haiti. It is possible that these animals are an as yet undescribed third subspecies.

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literature

  • Jon Curson, David Quinn, David Beadle: New World Warblers. Helm, London 1994, ISBN 0-7136-3932-6 , pp. 48 and 236.

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