Tennessee Warbler

Tennessee Warbler, breeding male; Point Pelee, Ontario, May

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Tennessee Warbler, female; Texas; September

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

A dainty warbler of the Canadian boreal forest, the Tennessee Warbler specializes in eating the spruce budworm. Consequently its population goes up and down with fluctuations in the populations of the budworm.

Description

• Small songbird.
• Drably colored with few distinct field marks.
• Back green.
• Underparts whitish.
• Crown and nape gray.
• Thin white line over eyes.

• Size: 10-13 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 20 cm (8 in)
• Weight: 8-13 g (0.28-0.46 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female duller, with less gray on head and more yellow on chest.

Sound

Song a loud, spitting three- or two-part series of trills, with the middle series composed of two-note syllables and the third part faster, higher, and louder.

Conservation Status

No evidence of population declines. Populations fluctuate widely, depending on spruce budworm outbreaks.

Other Names

Paruline obscure, la fauvette obscure (French)
Chipe peregrino, Reinita verdilla (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Tennessee Warbler breeds no closer to the state of Tennessee than northern Michigan, over 1,000 km (620 mi) away, and it winters over 2,000 km (1,440 mi) away in southern Mexico and southward. It was given its name in 1832 by Alexander Wilson who first encountered the bird in Tennessee during its migration.
• Males of most other warblers in the genus Vermivora have small, concealed patches of red or orange feathers on the tops of their heads. The Tennessee Warbler usually does not, but a very few males have a few reddish feathers there.

• The Tennessee Warbler is a common nectar "thief" on its wintering grounds in tropical forests. Instead of probing a flower from the front to get the nectar, and spreading pollen on its face in the process, the warbler pierces the flower tube at its base and gets the reward without performing any pollination.

Sources used to construct this page:

Rimmer, C. C., and K. P. McFarland. 1998. Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina). In The Birds of North America, No. 350 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.