Prairie Warbler
Setophaga discolor
The Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) is a common new world warbler found in 33 countries, weighing about 8 g. The prairie warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
About the Prairie Warbler
The prairie warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks. In males, the back is olive green with chestnut or rufuos streaks. A black stripe runs through the eye, and another black stripe runs from the beak down the throat. This semicircular stripe gives them a distinctive "tired" look. They have two faint wing bars. Their tails have large white areas, and they have dark legs. Coloring is duller in females and immature birds, and streaks are fainter or absent. The subspecies S. d. paludicola is also duller overall. Voice: Prairie warblers have two categories of songs, referred to as Type A and Type B. Type A songs are typically a series of ascending buzzy notes. The B songs are an ascending series of whistled notes that often contain some buzzy notes. Compared to A songs, the B songs are lower in pitch and have fewer, longer notes. The total song length is longer as well in Type B songs.
What the Prairie Warbler sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Aruba, Curaçao, Martinique, Nicaragua.
When to see it
Best months: March, April, May, June, August, September, October, with peak activity in May. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Prairie Warbler?
- These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Prairie Warbler?
- The Prairie Warbler is a tiny sized bird weighing about 8 g.
- Where can you see a Prairie Warbler?
- The Prairie Warbler occurs in 33 countries, including the United States, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas and Canada.
- What does a Prairie Warbler sound like?
- You can listen to a field recording of the Prairie Warbler on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Prairie Warbler?
- The Prairie Warbler is most easily confused with the Hooded Warbler, the Townsend's Warbler and the Cape May Warbler.
- Is the Prairie Warbler endangered?
- The Prairie Warbler is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Prairie Warbler for real
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