Family:
The blackpoll warbler is a small songbird with a short tail, and small, thin bill. In breeding plumage, the male has black upperparts with grey streaks, and two white wingbars. The underparts are white with black streaks. On the head there is a distinctive black cap, and the cheeks are white bordered with a black moustachial stripe. The bill is black, and the legs and feet are orange-yellow. The female is similar but paler and with less distinct marking and she has fine streaks on the cap, a broken pale eyering, and a dark line through the eye. She may have a yellowish wash on the breast and head.
In winter, the upperparts are greenish-yellow with dark streaks on the back, and the underparts are white with faint streaks. The face is pale yellow with a dark eyeline.
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Blackpoll warblers eat mainly insects such as aphids, beetles, ants, mosquitoes, locusts wasps, gnats, and spiders. They either pick prey from foliage high up in trees, or sometimes chase insects catching them in mid-air.
In breeding season, blackpoll warblers are found in northern North America from inland Alaska and Canada to northern New England in coniferous forests, mountains, and bushy areas. They migrate south for the winter to the tropics of Central and South America undertaking one of the longest non-stop overwater flights of any songbird.
