Nashville Warbler

Nashville Warbler, adult

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Nashville Warbler, first fall plumage

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

A small, sprightly songbird of second-growth forests, the Nashville Warbler breeds in both north-central North America and an isolated portion of the mountainous Pacific Northwest. It nests on the ground and feeds almost exclusively on insects.

Description

• Medium-sized warbler.
• Gray head.
• White eyering.
• Plain olive-green back and wings.
• Yellow throat, breast, and belly.

• Size: 10-12 cm (4-5 in)
• Wingspan: 17-20 cm (7-8 in)
• Weight: 7-12 g (0.25-0.42 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar; female slightly duller.

Sound

Song is loud and musical with a distinctive two-part pattern, with several two-note phrases followed by a trill. Call note is a dry chip.

Conservation Status

Clearing of forested land may have benefited the Nashville Warbler by creating more of its preferred second-growth habitat.

Other Names

Paruline à joues grises, Fauvette à joues grises (French)
Reinita capigris (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Nashville Warbler sometimes uses porcupine quills as nest material.
• Most first-year Nashville Warblers migrate along the Atlantic coast, while adults tend to migrate along inland routes.

• The Nashville Warbler does not regularly breed near Nashville, Tennessee, but was first observed there in 1811 by Alexander Wilson, who named the species.

• The western population of the Nashville Warbler was once considered a separate species, called the "Calaveras Warbler." It is slightly brighter than eastern birds, with a brighter yellow rump, more extensive white feathers on the lower belly, and a slightly longer tail.

Sources used to construct this page:

Williams, J. M. 1996. Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla). In The Birds of North America, No. 205 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.