Species
Tennessee warbler
Leiothlypis peregrina
A plain, olive warbler of the Canadian forests that passes through Georgia in migration.
Photo Cephas (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 cm long
- Weight
- About 8 to 17 g
- Habitat
- Treetops on migration
- Diet
- Insects, especially spruce budworm, and nectar
- In Georgia
- An uncommon spring and common autumn migrant
- Voice
- A loud, three-part chattering song
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Olive-green back; grey head in spring males; white eyebrow; plain underparts
- Told apart from
- Red-eyed vireo, which has a thicker bill
- Told apart from
- Orange-crowned warbler, which is duller with yellow under the tail
- Where to look
- Treetops during migration
Behaviour
Tennessee warblers feed on insects and nectar in treetops, often with other migrants.
Why they matter
Tennessee warblers increase dramatically during outbreaks of spruce budworm, a forest pest in Canada, making them important natural controls.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup on the ground in boreal forest
Eggs — Usually four to seven
Incubation — About 11 to 12 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- Window strikes are common on migration.
Misconceptions
- It lives in Tennessee. It was first described from a migrant there; it nests in Canada.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In Central and South America | In the tropics | In the tropics | Migrating north | Migrants | Nesting in Canada | Nesting | Migrating | Migrants | Last migrants | In the tropics | In the tropics |
Where it lives
Recorded in 65 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabamapassing through
- Alaskabreeding
- Arkansaspassing through
- California
- Connecticutin winter
- Delawarepassing through
- District of Columbiain winter
- Floridapassing through
- Georgiapassing through
- Illinoispassing through
- Indianapassing through
- Iowapassing through
- Kansaspassing through
- Kentuckypassing through
- Louisianapassing through
- Mainebreeding
- Marylandpassing through
- Massachusettspassing through
- Michiganpassing through
- Minnesotapassing through
- Mississippipassing through
- Missouripassing through
- Montanabreeding
- Nebraskapassing through
- New Hampshirepassing through
- New Jerseypassing through
- New Yorkpassing through
- North Carolinapassing through
- North Dakotapassing through
- Ohiopassing through
- Oklahomapassing through
- Pennsylvaniapassing through
- Rhode Islandpassing through
- South Carolinapassing through
- South Dakotapassing through
- Tennesseepassing through
- Texaspassing through
- Vermontpassing through
- Virginiapassing through
- West Virginiapassing through
- Wisconsinpassing through
Canada
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