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Prairie Warbler

Dendroica discolorOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Prairie Warbler Portrait
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General

Prairie Warbler: Small warbler with brown-streaked, olive-green upperparts with reddish-brown streaking and bright yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. Head has a yellow-green cap, yellow face, and dark eye and cheek stripes. Female and juvenile are duller with less distinct, but still visible, facial markings. Constantly wags tail.

Range and Habitat

Prairie Warbler: Breeds from eastern Nebraska, central Wisconsin, southern Ontario, and central New England south to Oklahoma, the Gulf Coast, and Florida; local in many areas. Spends winters in southern Florida and in the tropics. Preferred habitats include mixed pine-oak barrens, old pastures, hillsides scattered with red cedars, open scrub, and mangrove swamps; not often found in prairies.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee"

Interesting Facts

 The Prairie warbler was first described 1809 by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot, a French ornithologist.

 Females commonly eat the eggshells after their young hatch.

 These birds wag their tails frequently.

 A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Prairie Warbler
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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family Wood Warbler (Parulidae)_blue
Species Dendroica discolor
Length4.75 Inches
Wingspan7.5 Inches

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler: Small warbler, brown-streaked, olive-green upperparts with reddish-brown streaking, bright yellow underparts with black streaks on sides. Head has a yellow-green cap, yellow face, and dark eye, cheek stripes. Found in pine stands, mangroves and overgrown fields rather than prairies.

● Song: "zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee-zzee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Prairie Warbler: Eats mostly insects; forages by gleaning foliage, catching insects in mid-air, hovering, clinging to vertical stems, hanging upside down, and feeding on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Prairie Warbler: Four to five white eggs, with brown spots at large end, are laid in a nest made of grass and leaves, lined with hair and feathers, and usually set low in a bush or small tree. Incubation ranges from 11 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Prairie Warbler: Palm Warbler is paler below with heavier streaks on breast.

Flight Pattern

Fairly fast flight with rapidly beating wings.
Prairie Warbler Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Prairie Warbler: Breeds from eastern Nebraska, central Wisconsin, southern Ontario, and central New England south to Oklahoma, the Gulf Coast, and Florida; local in many areas. Spends winters in southern Florida and in the tropics. Preferred habitats include mixed pine-oak barrens, old pastures, hillsides scattered with red cedars, open scrub, and mangrove swamps; not often found in prairies.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester, Some polygamous
PopulationDeclining
MigrationMigratory
Weight0.3 Ounces