Length: About 5¼ inches.
Male: Upper parts a _dull grayish-blue_, darker on the back, black
bordering crown above the eye; _cheeks, throat_, and _upper breast
black_; _belly white_; _sides black and white_; wings black, edged
with blue, and with white next to body; _a white patch_ on wing;
tail bluish-black, _outer feathers largely white_.
Female: Very different from male; olive-green above, yellowish-white
underneath; light streak over eyes; _white patch_ near the base of
the primary quills; tail bluish, with much less white than on males.
Song: "His song, though very versatile, is among the thinnest and most
non-melodious of the family."[152]
Habitat: "Black-throated blue warblers prefer clearings amidst hemlock
woods or along hemlock-clad gully banks where there are dense
underbrush, bushes, and stump sprouts bearing multitudes of large
leaves."[152]
Range: Eastern North America from Hudson Bay and Newfoundland south to
the Northern States, and in the highlands and mountains to
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
The Black-throated Blue Warbler, though not so brilliantly colored as
many members of the family, is one of the neatest and best-groomed of
all the warblers. As he flies from bough to bough or bush to bush he
displays to fine advantage the clear black and white coloration, the
white spots on the wings and tail flashing like the wings of a
butterfly. He carries his wings and tail partially spread somewhat in
the manner of the Redstart.... The male is not so nervously active as
many other warblers....
"This warbler's nest often contains an egg of the Cowbird. The nests are
variously attached to slender scrubby bushes, 8 to 30 inches up, usually
very close to old trails or old wood roads.... A constant characteristic
of this warbler's nest is the decoration of decayed, spongy pieces of
light colored wood fastened to the outside."[152]