Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina)

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A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series). by Kimball L. Garrett, Jon L. Dunn, Cindy House (Illustrator)

Warblers of Eastern North America

Recording by John R. Sauer, U.S. Geological Survey

Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina)

Identification: 4.25 inches from tip of bill to tip of tail.

Breeding Male: The breeding male is olive-green above. The head is gray and there is a broad, conspicuous white band over the eye (supercilium). A black line runs through the eye. The underside is gray-white without streaks. Wing bars are absent.

Female: The breeding female has a dark olive-brown crown and a yellow supercilium. The black line through the eye is present and the throat and the rest of the underside is olive-green without streaking. Wing bars are absent.

Fall Male and Female: Similar to the breeding female.

Immature: Similar to the female.

Similar Species: The breeding male is similar to the Red-eyed Vireo, but is smaller (4.25 inches from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail versus about 5 inches in the Red-eyed Vireo). The bill is thinner and the eye is dark, not red. Females and fall individuals resemble the Orange-crowned Warbler. However the breast of the Orange-crowned Warbler is lightly streaked. In addition the feathers on the underside of the tail are yellow in the Orange-crowned Warbler, but white in the Tennessee Warbler.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Tennessee Warbler occurs through almost all of the Northern Boreal Forest during the breeding season.

Overwintering Range: American tropics.

Habitat: The Tennessee Warbler is found in Aspen and Spruce forest, particularly when the tree species are mixed. The species occurs in a wide variety of wooded areas during migration.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: The song consists of sharp, staccato unevely spaced chips, becoming faster near the end.

Reproduction: The nest is constructed of grasses and placed on the ground, usually under a bush or in a moss clump under a tussock. The clutch consists of 4 to 7 white eggs with brown spots.

Notes: This species varies considerably in abundance from year to year.