BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Setophaga pinus
Pine Warbler
| Scientific Name: | Setophaga pinus (Linnaeus, 1776) | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Dendroica pinus
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| English Name: | Pine Warbler | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | The change from genus name Dendroica to Setophaga was based on: Chesser, R.T. et.al. 2011. Fifty-second Supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Checklist of North American Birds. The Auk 128(3):600-613. |
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| Species Group: | Vertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | B-PIWA | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Apr 2016) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | SNA (Apr 2026) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Accidental | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Migratory Bird Convention Act: | Y | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | Slightly larger than most other wood-warblers (13-14 cm length, 9.4-15.1 g). Adult males have unstreaked, olive-green upperparts, a yellow throat and breast with indistinct black streaking on sides of the breast, a white belly and undertail coverts, dark wings with faint bluish tinge, and two broad whitish wing-bars. Adult females are duller and variable, but always with browner or grayer upperparts, a paler yellow throat and breast, duller white belly and undertail coverts. Bill is black and relatively heavy for a warbler. Immature is like adult female, but brownish gray above, breast, belly, and undertail coverts are washed with buff. Juvenile has grayish brown head and upperparts; grayish underparts are washed with buff on breast, belly, undertail coverts, and wingbars (Rodewald et al., in press). | ||||||||||
| Global Reproduction Comments: |
Perhaps due to the usual nesting high in trees, there are little data on reproduction. Breeding territories are established from late winter in the south to spring farther north. Breeding can begin in early-March in deep southern populations, later in the north, and may extend to early August. Based on 226 clutches from throughout the range, McNair (1987) reported a mean clutch initiation date of 20 April +/- 25 days (standard deviation). Median initiation date was 12 April; clutches were initiated between 7 March and 7 July. During an early spring in Georgia, one unfinished nest was found on 17 February (Burleigh 1958); however, most nest building does not begin until March in southern states. In more northerly states, nesting begins in April, May, or early June. Males establish territories through persistent singing, continuous presence, and chasing or attacking intruding birds. Fights and chases among males become less common as season progresses, at which time males seem to maintain territories primarily through singing. Clutch size is three to five (usually four). Although it is widely mentioned that the species is double-brooded, and even triple-brooded (Potter et al. 1980), there are no data to support those claims. It is almost certain the species can raise more than one brood per year, especially in southern states. Incubation, primarily by the female (male occasionally assists), lasts 12-13 days. Males feed the female on the nest. Young are fed by both parents during nestling and fledgling stages. The period of time parents feed young after fledging is unknown. Birds reach sexual maturity within one year. | ||||||||||
| Global Ecology Comments: |
Various population density figures have been reported in the literature. In Georgia, Johnston and Odum (1956) recorded 0.4 territorial males per ha in 25-year-old pine forest, 0.85 males per ha in 35-year-old forest, 1.06 males per ha in 60-year-old forest, and 1.36 males per ha in 100-year-old forest. In Texas, Dickson and Segelquist (1979) reported 0.2 territorial males per ha in pine-hardwood sapling stands, 0.55 males per ha in pine pole stands, 0.35 males per ha in pine-hardwood pole stands, 0.50 males per ha in pine saw timber stands, and 0.20 males per ha in pine-hardwood stands. In pine plantations in southern Illinois, where the species is far less common, Graber et al. (1983) reported 2.2 males per 40.5 ha. In Maryland, Stewart and Robbins (1952) recorded breeding densities of 1.9 territorial males per ha in an immature loblolly-shortleaf pine forest, 0.5 males per ha in pine-oak forest (pitch and Virginia pines, and southern red oak (QUERCUS FALCATA), and 0.25 males per ha in a mature Virginia pine forest. Winter bird count data from the Archbold Biological Station in central Florida (December 1993), indicate a density of approximately 2.35 birds per ha (J. Fitzpatrick, in litt.). In winter, it can be abundant in pine forests of the southeast where large mixed-species flocks may contain 50-100 or more pine warblers. In fall and winter, mixed-species flocks in southeastern pine forests usually form around Carolina chickadees (POECILE CAROLINENSIS) and tufted titmice (BAEOLOPHUS BICOLOR), and often include woodpeckers, brown-headed nuthatch (SITTA PUSILLA), eastern bluebird (SIALIUS SIALIA), kinglets (REGULUS spp.), and, farther south, blue-gray gnatcatcher (POLIOPTILA CAERULEA), blue-headed vireo (VIREO SOLITARIUS), yellow-rumped (DENDROICA CORONATA) and other warblers, and chipping sparrow (SPIZELLA PASSERINA) (Gaddis 1983, Morse 1970). Warblers in fall and winter flocks can be notoriously aggressive, with males frequently fighting, chasing, or supplanting other males and females (Morse 1974). Winter mixed-species flocks in north-central Florida contained pine warblers 65% of the time and had a mean of 2.6 individuals per flock (+ or - 1.8 SE) (Gaddis 1983). There are few data on territory size, but size probably varies considerably depending on habitat quality. In pine-oak forest in northwestern Arkansas, two pairs held territories approximately 1.0 ha in size (Rodewald, pers. obs.). Howe (1979) observed a pair in Minnesota nest building on a 0.1-ha lake island located 450 m from shore, indicating territories can be quite small in some cases. However, warblers were more regularly recorded on 1.0-ha lake islands. In oak-pine forests with low percentages of pines, may utilize only a small proportion of a much larger territory, typically moving from pine tree to pine tree and passing over deciduous trees (Morse 1974). Interspecifically aggressive towards many bird species, especially yellow-throated warblers (D. DOMINICA) during the breeding season on Delmarva peninsula in Maryland. Pine warblers typically prevail in aggressive encounters, and were even recorded displaying towards and countersinging with yellow-throated warblers (Ficken et al. 1968, Morse 1974). Aggressive behavior towards yellow-throated warblers has also been noted in northwestern Arkansas (Rodewald, pers. obs.). Brown-headed nuthatches flocking with pine warblers in Louisiana foraged heavily on distal parts of limbs and twigs, whereas warblers foraged in areas near tree trunks. In the absence of one another, the two species exhibited similar foraging distributions, indicating that each has an influence on the foraging behavior of the other (Morse 1967). Individuals wintering in southern forests are susceptible to extremes in weather and temperature. After 5 inches of snow and near-zero temperatures in coastal South Carolina in February 1899, Wayne (1899) reported finding countless dead birds of 16 species, including many pine warblers, a species he described as "decimated" by the cold. |
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| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
Y / Y / Y / na / |
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| Global Migration Comments: | Migratory in the northern half of the range. In subspecies PINUS, spring migration occurs primarily from late February to mid-May. Fall migration begins in September in northern populations, with the majority of migration occurring in October. Birds in some southern populations may not migrate. | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: |
Strongly associated with presence of pine and pine-hardwood forest during the breeding and winter seasons. A common breeder in most pine forests of the southeastern United States and in areas with pines in southeast Canada and the northeastern United States, but usually at lower densities, less common as a breeder in white pine forest areas. The highest numbers seem to occur where pure stands of pine are found; less abundant as the proportion of hardwood tree species increases. Birds are rarely found in deciduous forest, scrub, and thickets, except during migration and winter. Breeding occurs in a wide variety of pine forest types but not in other conifer forests (e.g., spruce (PICEA spp.), fir (ABIES spp.), larch (LARIX spp.), or hemlock (TSUGA spp.). In the north-central and northeastern U.S. and Canadian provinces, breeding occurs in stands of red (PINUS RESINOSA), pitch (P. RIGIDA), jack (P. BANKSIANA) and white (P. STROBUS) pines (white pine also being used in the Appalachians). In southern states, breeding and winter habitat consists of stands of shortleaf (P. ECHINATA), longleaf (P. PALUSTRIS), loblolly (P. TAEDA), Virginia (P. VIRGINIANA), and slash (P. ELLIOTTII) pines. Breeding occurs less frequently in sand (P. CLAUSA) (Stevenson and Anderson 1994) and pond pines (P. SEROTINA) (Schroeder 1985) in the southeastern U.S. All forest types used may be mixed with varying proportions of hardwood species. Nesting may occur in areas of primarily deciduous forest where small groves of pines are present. Adapts well to pine plantations, which are used for breeding throughout the range. In Florida, Repenning and Labisky (1985) did not record breeding warblers in 1-, 10-, and 24-year-old slash pine plantations, but recorded 8 birds per sq km in 40-year-old plantation forests. However, they found that the species did use 1-year-old (3 birds per sq km), 24-year-old (20 birds per sq km), and 40-year-old (86 birds per sq km) pine plantations during winter. In winter, birds commonly forage in large mixed-species flocks in southern pine forests when numbers increase because of birds migrating from farther north. At that time, flocks may forage in forest leaf litter, or in fields and pastures, usually in the vicinity of forest edge. Density of pine warblers is inversely related to percent of deciduous vegetation within a stand (Schroeder 1985). In a breeding habitat suitability model developed by Schroeder (1985), three main habitat variables of importance were identified: percent tree canopy closure (excluding white, sand, and pond pines), successional stage of the stand, and percent of dominant canopy pines with deciduous understory in the upper one-third layer. Optimal nesting habitat was provided by pure, dense, mature pine stands (excluding pine species mentioned above) that lack a tall deciduous understory. One shortcoming of this model, however, is that warblers do use white pine forest types for nesting; they simply tend to be less common in those pine habitats. Conner et al. (1983) reported that mature pine forests were favored in east Texas, with increasing abundance as the proportion of pole-size pines and vegetation height increased. Tree and shrub species diversity, and foliage density at different heights had little effect. In addition, stands of sapling-sized pines were avoided. In eastern Tennessee, Anderson and Shugart (1974) found that distribution was influenced by several habitat variables, the strongest of which was related to average size of understory vegetation, number of canopy trees, and average size of canopy vegetation. In this area, birds selected areas with sparse understory and a dense canopy. In the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Wilson et al. (1995) found significantly higher densities in forests with a more open midstory, lower canopy coverage, lower basal area of conifers and hardwoods, and dense ground cover of grasses, shrubs, vines, and forbs. Nesting occurs typically in pine trees in forest, rarely in deciduous trees within pine forest. Nests usually are placed on a horizontal branch or among foliage at a branch tip, usually 8-20 m above ground. Nests are usually well hidden and difficult to observe from the ground. |
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| Food Habits: |
Frugivore: Adult, Immature
Granivore: Adult, Immature Invertivore: Adult, Immature |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Arthropods are of primary importance. Lepidoptera larvae and pupae probably are the most frequent food items; other foods include Blattidae, Coccididae, Diptera, Homoptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Arachnida (Nesbitt and Hetrick 1976, Sample et al. 1993). During late summer, fall, and winter, the diet also may include fruits of bayberry (MYRICA spp.), dogwood (CORNUS FLORIDA), grape (VITUS spp.), persimmon (DIOSPYROS VIRGINIANA), sumac (RHUS spp.), and Virginia creeper (PARTHENOCISSUS QUINQUEFOLIA) (Bent 1953). This species apparently is unique among warblers in its ability to consume seeds to a large extent. Most seeds eaten are those of pines, such as longleaf, pitch, shortleaf, and loblolly. However, little information exists on the frequency of seed-eating (see Morse 1967). Foraging consists primarily of gleaning pine foliage and bark substrates, and sometimes deciduous foliage, especially during migration. Foraging occurs commonly on leaf litter of the forest floor in fall and winter, and sometimes in open habitats near forest edge. Sometimes flycatching is used to capture aerial prey items. Resident birds on Grand Bahama island foraged heavily on pine foliage and infrequently on bark surfaces, whereas birds used pine foliage and bark substrates approximately equally on Andros island (Emlen 1981). Foraging movements are relatively slowly for a wood warbler, consisting of hopping along tree limbs and branches and searching bark and foliage substrates while ducking twigs and foliage. This warbler regularly searches bark of tree trunk by foraging at bases of branches or landing on trunk. This behavior also has been recorded during spring migration in deciduous forest before leaves emerge. Frequently, it forages in pine foliage at branch tips, moving from one branch tip to the next, sometimes hanging sideways or upsidedown to procure prey items. Birds in the New Jersey Pine Barrens may respond to seasonal changes in arthropod abundance in oaks (Brush and Stiles 1990). In May, similar densities of pine warblers were found in two oak-pine forests, one of which was dominated by pines. However, when arthropod abundances were higher in the pine-dominated forest in June and July, significantly higher densities of birds were recorded in that forest. In pine forests during the breeding season, birds tended to forage higher, often at tips of branches in the canopy. Additional information on foraging can be found in Rodewald et al. (in prep.). |
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| Global Phenology: |
Diurnal: Adult, Immature
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| Global Phenology Comments: | No quantitative information is available on diurnal fluctuations in activity, but birds seem more active from early to mid-morning, and late afternoon to early evening. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | 14/ / 12 | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | BREEDING: Subspecies PINUS from southeastern Manitoba east across Canada to southwestern New Brunswick, south to eastern Oklahoma and Texas, Gulf Coast, and southern Florida (AOU 1998). However, very local or absent within a broad section of land running east-west from western Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. A disjunct breeding population occurs in the "Lost Pines" area of east-central Texas (Bastrop, Caldwell, and Fayette counties). NON-BREEDING: Subspecies PINUS in the southeastern U.S. from eastern Maryland and Delaware to eastern edge of Oklahoma (Ouachita Mountains) and Texas south through the breeding range; rare to casual in northeastern U.S., Canadian provinces, southern Texas, and the Florida Keys (AOU 1998). Very few records for vagrants (mostly in winter) in Belize, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Greenland (October), Jamaica, and northeastern Mexico. Scattered records (mostly spring and fall) in the western U.S. RESIDENT: Subspecies ACHRUSTERA in the Bahamas on Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, and New Providence. Subspecies CHRYSOLEUCA in the highlands of Hispaniola in western Haiti and eastern Dominican Republic (Dunn and Garrett 1997). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | RODEWALD, P. G., K. G. SMITH, AND G. HAMMERSON | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Feb 16, 1996 | ||||||||||
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| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp. |
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Bent, A. C. 1953. Life histories of North American wood warblers. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 203. Washington, D.C. |
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Droege, S., and J.R. Sauer. 1990. North American Breeding Bird Survey, annual summary, 1989. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 90(8). 22 pp. |
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Griscom, L., and A. Sprunt, Jr. 1979. The warblers of America. Doubleday and Co., Garden City, New York. 302 pp. |
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Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio. |
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Harrison, H. H. 1979. A field guide to western birds' nests. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 279 pp. |
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Harrison, H.H. 1984. Wood warblers' world. Simon and Schuster, New York. 335 pp. |
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Nolan, V., Jr. 1978. Ecology and behavior of the prairie warbler DENDROICA DISCOLOR. American Ornithologists' Union, Ornithological Monographs No. 26. 595 pp. |
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Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1996. Species Summary: Setophaga pinus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Nov 9, 2026).