But as patient birders know, that pain in the neck can certainly yield rich rewards with even a glimpse of this fire-throated beauty. Closely tied to tall coniferous forests, the species does make its way down the Appalachian range into Georgia, breeding at the higher elevations. Blackburnians rarely descend from their lofty domain during the breeding season.
Males perch at the very tip of the tallest spruces to sing their high-pitched, sibilant songs.
Both males and females can be found hovering to pluck caterpillars and other insects from among the spruce needles. In 1885, C. Hart Merriam reported a Blackburnian nest that was 84' high and contained a cowbird egg. However, also because of the nesting height, we still know very little about the breeding ecology of the species. Though the warbler feeds on outbreaks of spruce budworms, Blackburnian populations in Maine were found to decrease rather than increase during budworm irruptions. In fact, despite the difficulty in spotting singing males, Blackburnians are relatively tame and tolerant of close viewing.