Wood-Warblers

Tennessee Warbler, Vermivora peregrina

Family Parulidae (Wood-Warblers)

Size: 4.75"

Season: Summer

Habitat: Mixed woodlands with brushy thickets, bogs

The Tennessee warbler is a somewhat plain-looking warbler that breeds in New England and throughout Canada, with a plump body, short tail, and medium-length, pointed bill. Breeding males are olive green above, grayer on the wings and tail, with unstreaked, white underparts. Pale-green wing bars are present but very subtle. The head and nape are bluish gray with a thin, dark eye line and a white supercilium. Breeding females have a more olive-colored crown and nape and have a yellow wash to the throat and breast. Juveniles and winter adults of both sexes show more yellowish color overall. They often forage high in the canopy, feeding on insects, larvae, or berries, which they glean from foliage, sometimes by hanging upside down on small branches. The voice is a three-part collection of accelerating, high-pitched cheeps. The breeding male (bottom) and female (top) are illustrated.