Chestnut-Sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)


Group	Warblers
Code	ABPBX03020
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Parulidae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1766)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	LM (definitions)
Scale	S (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	Montcalm, Oakland, Muskegon, Lenawee, Macomb, Livingston, St. Joseph, St. Clair, Lapeer, Wayne, Washtenaw, Van Buren, Tuscola, Shiawassee, Saginaw, Sanilac, Allegan, Ottawa, Berrien, Cass, Eaton, Branch, Clinton, Barry, Calhoun, Kent, Kalamazoo, Ionia, Ingham, Hillsdale, Gratiot, Genesee, Huron, Jackson

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

      (Any Upland Deciduous (Regen))
      or (Any Upland Mixed (Regen))
      or (Lowland Deciduous (Regen)
      or (Lowland Mixed (Regen))
      or Upland Brush
      or Savanna

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	YES	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Assorted Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	YES	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Upland Brush, Savanna
Special Features	Edges

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Literature:

Reinoehl, J. 1991. Chestnut-sided Warbler. Pages 396-397 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: The Chestnut-sided Warbler is found in several different habitats in the state. All share a dense, shrubby ground cover. Some preferred habitats, such as regenerating clearcuts and shrub wetlands, have little or no canopy. The species also occupies open woodlands and edges of various sorts. It is not seen in the interior of mature deciduous forest and only very seldom in coniferous areas.

Data gathered during the Atlas Habitat Survey showed that in the southern Lower Peninsula many of the sightings were in open woodlands with relatively mature trees. Here the species was found mostly in drier areas. Farther north, most of the sightings were in moist and dry shrubby areas or areas of young deciduous growth. Johnsson and Shelton found this species in openings caused by moose browsing, beaver cutting, and windfall on Isle Royale. This provides an interesting assortment of possible natural habitats for the species in presettlement days. The nest is a loosely built cup placed in a small shrub or tree at a height of 2 m or less.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Second growth woodland edges and abandoned fields; along brushy brooksides and hillsides, roadside thickets, woodland clearings and burns.

Special Habitat Requirements: Early second growth - sprouts and bush at wood margins, hardwood regeneration.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

In leafy second-growth woods, clearings, and thickets, this warbler is often common. It is apparently much more numerous today then it was historically: John James Audubon, roaming eastern North America in the early 1800s, saw the bird only once. The cutting of forests evidently has created more brushy habitat for Chestnut-sided Warblers, even as it has made other birds less common.

Habitat: Slashings, bushy pastures. A habitat specialist, expanding its range since the 19th century as forests were cut in the eastern United States. Breeds in second-growth deciduous woods, overgrown fields and edge habitat. Prefers brushy thickets, briers, and brambles. Winters in tropics in forest edge and second growth.

Diet: Mostly insects. During nesting season, known to eat caterpillars, flies, small moths, small grasshoppers, beetles, spiders; also a few berries.

Nest: Placed in low dense shrubs or tangles such as blackberry or rhododendron or in deciduous saplings such as alder or maple. Loosely constructed open cup nest is made of cedar or grapevine bark strips, fibrous weeds, grasses, roots, and fine plant down, lined with fine grass and animal hair. Nest may be attached to twigs with spider webs.