A small warbler with gray head, white eye ring, and yellow throat. Named for Nashville like its cousin.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The Nashville warbler is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter in southern California and Texas, Mexico, and the north of Central America. It has a gray head and a green back, and its underparts are yellow and white.
Source: Wikipedia — Nashville warbler Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Gray head with a bold complete white eye ring, bright yellow throat and underparts, olive back. A concealed rufous crown patch is rarely seen. White lower belly.
Similar species. Connecticut and MacGillivray's are larger and hooded; Virginia's Warbler is grayer with limited yellow.
Voice. A two-parted song: 'seebit-seebit-seebit-titititi' speeding up at the end.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects (caterpillars primary), spiders, occasional berries on migration.
Behavior. An active forager in second growth, bogs, and forest edges; often flicks its tail. Two distinct populations east and west.
§ Range
Boreal Canada in summer; winters in Mexico, Central America
§ Habitat
Boreal coniferous and mixed forests
§ Threats
Boreal forest loss, climate change.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the nashville warbler is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support boreal forest conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Nashville warbler
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Leiothlypis ruficapilla
- IUCN Red List — search for Leiothlypis ruficapilla
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Leiothlypis ruficapilla
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
