Colima Warbler

Colima Warbler
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Suborder:	Passeri
Family:	Parulidae
Genus:	Oreothlypis
Species:	O. crissalis
Binomial name
Oreothlypis crissalis (Salvin & Godman, 1889)

The Colima Warbler, Oreothlypis crissalis, is a New World warbler. It is mainly found in the Sierra Madre Occidental of central Mexico, though its range just barely extends into adjacent southwestern Texas in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park.

The Colima warbler is about 4.5 to 5 inches (11 to 13 cm) long. They are mainly dark gray and brownish in coloration, with a pale under-side. Their rump and the feathers below their tail are yellow. They have a white ring around their eye, and a tinge of pale color on their breasts. Males have a spot of orange on the top of their heads.

In appearance the Colima Warbler is very similar to the Virginia's Warbler, but is larger in size, more robust, and heavier billed. The Virginia's Warbler has much more yellow or pale color on their breasts, which is more gray in the Colima Warbler. The yellow above and below the tail is also more orange-yellow in the Colima's Warbler, and more greenish-yellow in Virginia's Warblers.

Life history

Nesting is done on the ground. Forming a loose cup-shaped nest of grass, leaves, and moss the Colima Warbler hides its nest among the mountain rocks. It usually lays four eggs, which are white to cream-colored and speckled with brown.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Vermivora crissalis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened