Red-faced Warbler

Cardellina rubrifrons

Scarlet face in a gray woodland. Breeds in mountain pine-oak forest above 6,000 ft, arriving before the heat.

Population: Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at roughly 350,000 individuals; despite being IUCN Least Concern, the species is on PIF's Yellow Watch List (Continental Concern Score 14/20) because of its narrow, restricted range and vulnerability to logging of mature high-elevation forest
Habitat: High-elevation coniferous and pine-oak-fir mountain forests, roughly 2,000-3,000 m (6,500-9,800 ft), often in canyons near streams, favoring mature, relatively open, undisturbed stands
Fun fact: Despite its vivid fire-engine-red face, the Red-faced Warbler nests on the ground, hiding a cup of leaves, grass, and pine needles in forest-floor debris, and it has a distinctive habit of flicking its tail sideways while foraging.
Range: Breeds in the mountains (Madrean sky islands) of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico (USA) south through the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico; northern populations are migratory, wintering (above ~4,000 ft) from southern Mexico south to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, while Mexican highland populations are largely resident
Diet: Insectivorous — gleans and hover-gleans caterpillars, flies, aphids, scale insects, leafhoppers, beetles and other small arthropods from foliage and conifer needles, also pursuing insects in short aerial sallies
Size: 0.14 m
Wingspan: 0.21 m
Lifespan: 7 years

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