Chestnut-sided Warbler: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Little Birds of the Americas · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. To win a mate, the male whistles a song often written as 'pleased, pleased, pleased to MEECHA'.
2. Without the 'MEECHA' ending, the song is a warning to rival males. Males that only sing this version find mates less easily.
3. It loves young regrowing woods. After trees are cut, its numbers climb within a year and peak seven to eight years later.
4. It mainly eats caterpillars and fly larvae, picking most of its food off leaves. Now and then it snatches an insect in mid-air.
5. In 2018, a rare bird in Pennsylvania turned out to be a mix of three species. Its father was a chestnut-sided warbler.

The quiz

1. How is the male's courtship song often written?

• Pleased, pleased, pleased to MEECHA (correct)
• Teacher, teacher, teacher
• Drink your tea
• Who cooks for you

Its whistled song, used to attract a female, ends in 'MEECHA'.

2. What happens to males that sing only the song without 'MEECHA'?

• They attract more females
• They find mates less easily (correct)
• They lose their territory at once
• They stop singing in summer

They are less successful at finding mates than males that sing both songs.

3. When do its numbers peak after a forest is cut?

• After one week
• After one month
• Seven to eight years later (correct)
• Only after 100 years

Its numbers rise within a year and peak seven to eight years after.

4. What does the chestnut-sided warbler mainly eat?

• Flower nectar
• Small fish
• Tree sap
• Caterpillars and fly larvae (correct)

Its main food is the larvae of moths, butterflies and flies.

5. What was special about the bird found in Pennsylvania in 2018?

• It was pure white
• It was a mix of three species (correct)
• It had four wings
• It sang like a frog

It was a three-species hybrid with a chestnut-sided warbler father.

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