Tennessee Warbler
Vermivora peregrina
Family: Parulidae

The Tennessee Warbler is yellow-olive above, darker head almost gray, cream colored underparts fading to white behind, a pale yellow line over the eye, dark brown bill and a little paler below, and wings without bands. The female is similar to the male except the head is less gray and the underparts are slightly yellowish. This bird is anywhere from 4 1/2 - 5" in length with a wingspan of 7 1/2 - 8".

As with all warblers, the Tennessee Warbler is a migratory bird with their migratory route being from Mexico to Mississippi Valley and then reaching the northern states to Canada. In Autumn, this bird can be confused with the Orange-crowned Warbler and also the Warbling Vireo.

It is an active bird being an expert catcher of flies and is fond of hanging to the ends of branches like a titmouse. Since all warblers are active, they will not stand still for telescopes and cameras. They land on a branch, snatch an insect then glance around and fly off to another branch.

Comment:

Since all warblers are active, it was very difficult to take a good picture and therefore, I have displayed these 3 pictures of the Tennessee Warbler.

Song:

The song of the Tennessee Warbler is a louder seet, seet, seet or chip, chip, chip as it passes from one branch to another or while flying.

Range:

Migratory. Winters in Mexico to Venezuela and breeds across most of the northern US and southern Canada and the panhandle of Alaska.

Nesting/Eggs:

The nest is composed of moss and dried grasses and lined with rootlets, fine grasses and sometimes hairs of elk/moose or porcupine in a domed shape. It can be found in bogs, thickets, in grasses or bases of bushes. Throughout the months of June-July, as many as 4-6 eggs which are white with brown spots are laid. The eggs hatch within 11-12 days and are incubated by the female.

Natural Feeding Habits:

This bird's diet consists of insects, such as small beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids, weevils and spiders and eats seeds of sumac and berries of poison ivy. They also consume the juices of grapes by poking a hole in the grape with their bills.

Feeding Stations:

Will sometimes come to feeding stations for peanut butter suet, suet and ripe bananas.

Other Names:

Another name for the Tennessee Warbler is Tennessee Swamp Warbler.