Prairie Warbler
It’s the end of February and peak songbird migration is still a couple of months away. Since we still have a few more weeks until the spring equinox, let’s chase away those late winter blues by spending some time to learn about the colorful Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor).
The Prairie Warbler is one of 110 New World (meaning the Americas) warblers, a diverse group of small, colorful birds grouped into the taxonomic family, Parulidae. Warblers are a real treat to observe, sporting colorful spring plumage as they migrate through or return to their breeding grounds in the spring. They are also a real challenge to see, typically found high in the trees flitting among the leaves. A day watching warblers is often followed by sore neck muscles. Birders have a special term for this – it’s known as “warblers neck.”
Where it lives and breeds
The Prairie Warbler is one of the 38 warbler species found in the eastern U.S. They winter in southern Florida, the Bahamas, and on Caribbean Islands. They currently breed throughout the southeast U.S., ranging as far west as eastern Texas and northeast Oklahoma, north to central Missouri, southern Indiana and Ohio, then northeast through most of Pennsylvania, into the southern tier of New York, Massachusetts, parts of Vermont and New Hampshire, then along the southeast coast of Maine.
The name is somewhat misleading, since they really don’t spend much time on prairies. Instead, they breed in shrubby old fields and early successional habitats (such as early stage regenerating forests). The Prairie Warbler’s breeding range was much more restricted prior to European settlement. Its range expanded as a result of deforestation in the eastern states, opening up habitat conducive to its breeding habits. It became widespread by the mid-twentieth century. Over the last 50 years, its numbers have declined in some areas as a result of reforestation.
What it looks like
The breeding plumage of the adult male Prairie Warbler is a display of bright yellow with bold black lines and streaks. It has a distinctive face, mostly yellow with a blackish line through the eye and a yellow crescent bordered by a black stripe below the eye. It has a yellow underside with distinct black marks on the lower side of its neck and black streaks along its sides and flanks. It is olive with chestnut markings above, from forehead to tail, with pale yellow wing bars and white tail spots. The plumage for both the adult female and male outside of breeding season is a paler shade of yellow with less distinct markings, and with dark olive instead of black marks on the head (see the first picture).
Its song
The male Prairie Warbler song, used to attract a mate or defend territory, consists of a series of between 4 to 20 distinct, ascending notes that sound like “zee zee zee zee zee …” Click below to hear its song.
Similar species
Pine Warbler
The Pine Warbler breeds throughout the eastern US and can be found year around in the southeast US. It has some similarities to the Prairie Warbler. For example, both have a yellow underside with streaks. However, the Pine Warbler is only yellow on the neck and breast, with white from its lower belly extending to its tail. Its streaks, while dark, are not black like the Prairie Warbler’s. In addition, while the Pine Warbler has dark on the face, it lacks the Prairie Warbler’s intricate facial pattern. Finally, it lacks the chestnut coloring on the back and has white rather than yellow wing bars.
Palm Warbler
The Palm Warbler breeds mainly in Canada, with its breeding range touching the US only in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and parts of northern Minnesota. It migrates through most of the the eastern US, wintering along the southern Atlantic coast, Florida, and the gulf coast as well as Caribbean Islands and parts of the Central American Atlantic coast. The Yellow Palm Warbler subspecies has a yellow underside with streaks and a patterned face. However, its streaks are brown and muted, and it lacks the yellow crescent below the eye. In addition, it has a chestnut cap that the Prairie Warbler lacks.
Magnolia Warbler
The Magnolia Warbler also breeds in Canada and migrates through the eastern US to its wintering grounds in Central America and the Caribbean Islands. In its breeding plumage, the Magnolia Warbler has a yellow underside with bold black streaks. However, it is not likely confused with the Prairie Warbler due to an equally bold black “necklace” marking around its neck and a black mask with broken white eye ring. It also has white on the underside at the base of the tail. The boldness fades when it loses its breeding plumage (as pictured here), but remnants of the necklace, eye ring, and white below the tail help distinguish it from the Prairie Warbler.
That’s it for this week.
Next week I’ll talk about the Double-crested Cormorant.
If you missed last week, check out the Brown Pelican.