Lucy's Warbler
Leiothlypis luciae
About This Species
A small warbler of desert riparian woodland in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, closely tied to mesquite and willow thickets along streams and washes. It forages low and quickly through foliage, gleaning insects, and its rufous rump patch is often the best identification clue as it flits between branches. Spring migration and the early breeding season, from April through June, are the best window, when males sing persistently from riparian thickets.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- A distance of several metres with binoculars is generally enough, since this species is more often lost from view in dense brush than approached too closely.
- In the United States it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and disturbance of nests, which are typically hidden in tree cavities or under bark, should be avoided entirely.
- Stick to trails and avoid pushing into dense mesquite thickets during the breeding season.
LCAvesPasseriformesParulidae
Seasonal Activity
266,993 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
Photo
(c) Ad Konings, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Ad Konings
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.