Diet and Foraging

Primarily forages on or near the ground in dense undergrowth where it gleans arthropods; occasionally eats fruits and seeds during migration. Diet on the overwintering grounds is poorly known and deserves further study.

Microhabitat for Foraging

Few specific details due to difficulty to observe foraging birds. During breeding period, forages on or just above the ground (196 Wetmore, A. (1964). Song and Garden Birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA. Close ), on fallen logs (10 Curson, J., D. Quinn, and D. Beadle (1994). Warblers of the Americas: an Identification Guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY, USA. Close ), and in brushy sheltered areas around swamps and meadows (196 Wetmore, A. (1964). Song and Garden Birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, USA. Close ). In migration, generally seen foraging on the ground in leaf litter or in dense brushy tangles or dense weedy areas, but may also forage along tree limbs well above ground (11 Dunn, J. L., and K. L. Garrett (1997). A Field Guide to the Warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, USA. Close ); e.g., during fall migration in Massachusetts, reported to forage in the tops of large willows (Salix), 15–20 m above ground (111 Forbush, E. H., and J. B. May (1939). Natural History of the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Close ). During migration in Puerto Rico, it has been observed feeding at the base of mesquite brush piles (119 McKenzie, P. M., and R. E. Noble (1989). Site records for Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) and Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) in Puerto Rico. Florida Field Naturalist 17:69–72. Close ). On overwintering grounds, it forages low to the ground in dense undergrowth (197 Meyer de Schauensee, R., and W. H. Phelps (1978). A Guide to the Birds of Venezuela. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. Close , 198 Keast, A. (1980). Spatial relationships between migratory parulid warblers and their ecological counterparts in the neotropics. In Migrant Birds in the Neotropics: Ecology, Behaviour, Distribution, and Conservation (A. Keast and E. S. Morton, Editors). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA. pp. 109–132. Close ).

Food Capture and Consumption

Information needed. While walking on the ground, bobbing its head back and forth and often peering upward, it frequently gleans prey from the underside of low foliage, often stretching or jumping vertically capture prey; it also gleans prey from leaf litter or branches (11 Dunn, J. L., and K. L. Garrett (1997). A Field Guide to the Warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, USA. Close ). Bent (7 Bent, A. C. (1953). Life Histories of North American Wood Warblers. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 203. Close ) recounted an observation reported by Audubon of two Connecticut Warblers chasing a spider species that runs over water, capturing them while flying low over the water in a manner similar to that of a drinking swallow (Hirundo).

Very little is known about diet at any season.

Major Food Items

On breeding grounds, reported to eat spiders and insect adults, larvae, and eggs; also fruits during summer (199 DeGraaf, R. M., V. E. Scott, R. H. Hamie, L. Ernst, and S. H. Anderson (1991). Forest and rangeland birds of the United States. Agricultural Handbook no. 688, U.S. Forest Service, Washington, DC, USA. Close ); as many as 50 spiders were found in the gut of one individual (7 Bent, A. C. (1953). Life Histories of North American Wood Warblers. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 203. Close ). Other food items mentioned include beetles, snails, and sometimes small seeds and berries (7 Bent, A. C. (1953). Life Histories of North American Wood Warblers. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 203. Close , 142 Imhof, T. A. (1976). Alabama Birds. Second Edition. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA. Close ). Fed on late instar larval stages of the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) in aspen and mixed-wood forests in Alberta; caterpillar predation increased with increased numbers of Connecticut Warblers (88 Nixon, A. E. (2011). Interactions between the forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria Hübner) and its natural enemies: the effects of forest composition and implications for outbreak spread. M.S. thesis. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Close ).

Information needed on diet during migration and overwintering periods. During migration in Puerto Rico, fed on Noctuid caterpillars (Mocis latipes) (119 McKenzie, P. M., and R. E. Noble (1989). Site records for Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis) and Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) in Puerto Rico. Florida Field Naturalist 17:69–72. Close ).

Quantitative Analysis

Information needed.

Information needed.

Information needed.

Information needed.

Information needed.