Setophaga nigrescens halseii
Status: Rare casual spring migrant west, accidental east. Rare casual fall migrant west and central.
Documentation: Photograph: 16 May 2008 Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co (Brogie 2009).
Taxonomy: Although two subspecies have been recognized (Pyle 1997), they are poorly differentiated and current authors treat the species as monotypic (Guzy and Lowther 2020, Gill et al 2022). The putative subspecies discussed by Pyle (1997) are nigrescens, breeding from coastal southwest British Columbia to west-central California, and halseii, breeding from interior southern British Columbia and south-central California east to Wyoming and southwest Texas.
Breeding birds in Wyoming are halseii (Faulkner 2010), and presumably Nebraska migrants are also of this subspecies.
Spring: There are nine reports, six acceptably documented:
1 May 1999 male Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co (Dinsmore 2000; Jorgensen 2001)
5 May 2009 Sioux Co (Silcock 2009)
5 May 2023 Pawnee Road, Lincoln Co (photograph Brian Peterson; Brogie 2024)
12 May 2008 Wind Springs Ranch, Sioux Co (Silcock 2008)
16 May 2008 male photographed Crescent Lake NWR, Garden Co (cited above)
25 May 2000 first-year male Otoe Co (Falk 2002, Jorgensen 2002).
Among the three additional undocumented reports, one in Scotts Bluff Co 19 May 1974 Scotts Bluff Co is likely correct. Johnsgard (1980) listed additional reports for Cherry and Garden Cos, but no dates or details were provided.
Fall:
There are four accepted reports.
1 Sep 2002 adult male Hyannis Cemetery, Grant Co (Brogie 2003)
7 Sep 2001 female Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co (Silcock 2001)
14 Sep 2021 first year Verdigre, Knox Co (Brogie 2021, 2022)
8-9 Oct 2024 Lake Minatare, Scotts Bluff Co (Brenner, eBird.org).
Photographs of an apparent adult male at Oliver Reservoir 8 Sep 2007 were considered inconclusive by NOURC (Brogie 2009) but is under reconsideration by NOURC via supplemental written notes (Mark Brogie, personal communication). A bird seen 23-24 Aug 1967 at Tryon, McPherson Co (Bassett 1968, Williams 1968) may have been correctly identified. There is one other fall report, 20 Sep 1979 Douglas-Sarpy Cos.
Comments: This species breeds locally in southeast Colorado and north in the foothills to north-central Colorado (Andrews and Righter 1992). Faulkner (2010) stated that it is a mature-growth juniper specialist, breeding in central and southwest Wyoming and rarely found elsewhere.
There are about 60 records in all in eastern Colorado, extreme southwestern Kansas, and extreme southwestern Wyoming, and a surprising number for North Dakota and into Canada, but few on the central Great Plains (eBird.org, accessed Jun 2024).
Images
Abbreviations
NOURC: Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee
NWR: National Wildlife Refuge
Literature Cited
Andrews, R., and R. Righter. 1992. Colorado birds. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Bassett, O. 1968. Black-throated Gray Warbler. NBR 36: 15-16.
Brogie, M.A. 2003. 2002 (14th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 71: 136-142.
Brogie, M.A. 2009. 2008 (20th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 77: 80-90.
Brogie, M.A. 2021. Black-throated Gray Warbler in Knox County, Nebraska. NBR 89: 146.
Brogie, M.A. 2022. 2021 (33rd) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 90: 113-122.
Dinsmore, S.J. 2000. Black-throated Gray Warbler at Oliver Reservoir. NBR 68: 46.
Falk, L. 2002. Birds in Otoe County. Published by the Author, Nebraska City, Nebraska, USA.
Faulkner, D.W. 2010. Birds of Wyoming. Roberts and Company, Greenwood Village, Colorado.
Gill, F., D. Donsker, and P. Rasmussen (Eds). 2022. IOC World Bird List (v 12.2). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.12.2. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
Guzy, M.J. and P.E. Lowther. 2020. Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.btywar.01.
Johnsgard, P. A. 1980. A preliminary list of the birds of Nebraska and adjacent Great Plains states. Published by the author, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2001. 1999 (Eleventh) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 69: 85-91.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2002. 2002 (sic; =2000). (12th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 70: 84-90.
Pyle, P. 1997. Identification Guide to North American Birds. Part I, Columbidae to Ploceidae. Slate Creek Press, Bolinas, California, USA.
Silcock, W.R. 2001. Fall Field Report, August-September 2001. NBR 69: 158-189.
Silcock, W.R. 2008. Spring Field Report, Mar-May 2008. NBR 76: 50-71.
Silcock, W.R. 2009. Spring Field Report, March-May 2009. NBR 77: 46-68.
Williams, F. 1968. Southern Great Plains Region. Audubon Field Notes 22: 57-60.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2025. Black-throated Gray Warbler (Setophaga nigrescens). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 14 Mar 2025