Chestnut-sided Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler, male, breeding plumage

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Chestnut-sided Warbler, female

Chestnut-sided Warbler, non-breeding plumage

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A common bird of second growth and scrubby forests, the Chestnut-sided Warbler is distinctive in appearance. No other warbler combines a greenish-yellow cap, a white breast, and reddish streaks down the sides.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Forehead yellow.
• Black mustache stripe on face.
• Underparts white.
• Chestnut streak along sides.

• Size: 10-11 cm (4-4 in)
• Wingspan: 18-21 cm (7-8 in)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but breeding plumaged female duller, with greener back, paler face, and with less extensive chestnut sides. In nonbreeding plumage, female without chestnut on sides.

Sound

Song a series of musical notes, usually accented at the end: "pleased, pleased, pleased to MEETCHA."

Conservation Status

Populations increased in 19th century, slightly decreasing now.

Other Names

Paruline à flancs marron (French)
Reinita de costillas castañas (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• On the wintering grounds in Central America the Chestnut-sided Warbler joins in mixed-species foraging flocks with the resident antwrens and tropical warblers. An individual warbler will return to the same area in subsequent years, joining back up with the same foraging flock it associated with the year before.

• The Chestnut-sided Warbler sings two basic song types: one is accented at the end (the pleased-to-MEETCHA song), and the other is not. The accented songs are used primarily to attract a female and decrease in frequency once nesting is well under way. The unaccented songs are used mostly in territory defense and aggressive encounters with other males. Some males sing only unaccented songs, and they are less successful at securing mates than males that sing both songs.

Sources used to construct this page:

1. Dunn, J. L., and Garrett, K. L. 1997. A Field Guide to Warblers of North America. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.;
2. Richardson, M., and D. W. Brauning. 1995. Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica). In The Birds of North America, No. 190 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.