Nashville Warbler

Small, active wood-warbler with a bright yellow underside and olive-green back. It sports a gray head with a bold, complete white eye-ring giving it a big-eyed look. Often the male shows a subtle rusty patch on the crown (usually concealed). This warbler is often found flitting in shrubs and lower branches, flicking its tail as it forages.

“seewit-seewit-seewit-ti-ti-ti”

Breeds in boreal forests and mixed woodlands, especially areas regenerating after logging or fires with thick undergrowth. Common in young spruce-fir forests, as well as brushy hillsides and forest edges. During migration, found in a variety of habitats from forest understory and thickets to suburban areas with trees. Winters in oak and pine forests, coffee plantations, and second-growth in Mexico and Central America.

In spring (April-May), moves north in waves, often joining mixed flocks of other warblers. Males arrive on breeding territories and begin singing vigorously to establish their area in the brushy forest. Nesting occurs in late spring into summer; the female builds a cup nest on or near the ground under shrubs or mossy logs, and both parents feed the young by early summer. By late summer, singing wanes and warblers prepare for southbound migration. Fall migration (Aug-Oct) sees Nashville Warblers in woodland edges and gardens, often in the company of kinglets and other warblers, foraging frenetically. They reach wintering grounds by late fall and spend the winter quietly feeding in tropical forests, not singing again until the return trip the next spring.