Tennessee Warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) lives in boreal forests across North America. It feeds on insects and spiders. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Hear the Tennessee Warbler
A real field recording of the Tennessee Warbler, made in the wild.
The specific name peregrina derives from the Latin word for "wanderer". This warbler breeds across eastern North America and much of Canada, then embarks on a long south-bound migration each autumn. In winter it settles in southern Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, and on rare occasions it turns up as a vagrant in western Europe. Its migratory habit links distant habitats across the continent.
The Tennessee warbler is a small bird, measuring 11.5 cm in length with a wingspan of 19.69 cm and a body mass of roughly 10 g. Its long wings, short tail, and thin, pointy bill, along with an olive back and slate-gray head in males, are characteristic, and both sexes retain stark white undertail coverts year-round.
The warbler's population rises and falls in step with the availability of spruce budworm, its favourite insect prey. In addition to insects, the species also consumes flower nectar, fruit and some seeds.
Both male and female Tennessee warblers retain stark white undertail coverts throughout the year, a constant field mark that helps birders identify them in any season. This plumage feature contrasts sharply with the orange-crowned warbler, which displays yellow undertail coverts instead. The white coverts are visible whether the birds are perched in coniferous forests or joining mixed flocks after breeding, reinforcing their distinctive appearance.
Although the species normally migrates between breeding grounds in eastern North America and wintering habitats in southern Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, it is recorded as a very rare vagrant in western Europe, far beyond its usual range. Such sightings occur only occasionally when individuals stray far from their normal migratory corridor.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
In the lush canopies of North America's eastern forests, the Tennessee Warbler flits with effortless elegance, its olive-green plumage glistening like moss in the dappled light. With a flick of its tail and a burst of swift, agile flight, this tiny songster navigates the intricate web of branches, its bright, inquisitive eyes scanning the leafy understory for the smallest morsels of insects and sap. As it moves, its melodic voice rings out, a series of sharp, whistled phrases that punctuate the forest air, a testament to the boundless energy and joie de vivre of this diminutive, yet irrepressible, bird.
Advertisement
Hear the Tennessee Warbler, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
