Leiothlypis peregrina
The Tennessee Warbler (*Leiothlypis peregrina*) is a small, energetic songbird, typically measuring 11.5-12.5 cm in length with a weight ranging from 8.5 to 12.5 grams and a wingspan of approximately 19 cm. Breeding males are easily identified by their distinctive gray cap, pale supercilium extending above the eye, and unmarked olive-green upperparts contrasting with whitish underparts. Females and non-breeding males are duller, often appearing more uniformly olive above with yellowish tinges...
Breeds in moist, coniferous, and mixed boreal forests, often favoring spruce-fir, tamarack bogs, and aspen stands, typically at low to moderate elevations. Winters in humid evergreen forests, cloud forests, and shade coffee plantations, frequently at higher elevations, across Central and South Am...
Primarily insectivorous, consuming vast quantities of caterpillars (especially spruce budworms), beetles, flies, and spiders, gleaned from foliage. During winter, their diet is supplemented with nectar and small fruits from flowering plants and trees.
This diurnal species actively forages from dawn until dusk, constantly gleaning insects from foliage in the middle and upper canopy, often hovering briefly to snatch prey or catching insects in mid-air. Males establish and vigorously defend breeding territories through persistent, loud singing. T...
The breeding range of the Tennessee Warbler spans the vast boreal forests of North America, extending from Alaska and the Yukon east across Canada to Newfoundland, and south into the northern Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with sporadic breeding in northern New England....
Least Concern
- Despite its name, the Tennessee Warbler primarily uses Tennessee as a migratory stopover, not for breeding or wintering. - During outbreaks of spruce budworms, a single Tennessee Warbler can consume hundreds of these caterpillars per day, making them crucial pest controllers. - Its population s...