Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 4.3 in
11 cm - Weight
- 0.2–0.3 oz
6–9 g
Other Names
- Fauvette des prés (French)
- Verdín des las praderas (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The male Prairie Warbler sings two song types, which closely resemble each other but differ subtly in volume and speed. The faster "Group A" song is directed at the female, for courtship and maintenance of the pair bond. The "Group B" song is sung at territory boundaries to deter other males.
- Female Prairie Warblers commonly eat the eggshells after their young hatch, consuming the shells in 15 to 90 seconds.
- The Prairie Warblers living in the Florida mangroves are considered to be a separate subspecies from the more widespread migratory ones. The Florida birds are slightly larger and have larger white spots in their tails.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Various shrubby habitats, including regenerating forests, open fields, and Christmas-tree farms. Florida residents live in mangrove forests.
Food
Insects
Insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Pale brownish or gray, often with a ring of spots near one end and more spots scattered over the rest of the shell.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless, with some gray down.
Nest Description
Open cup of long plant fibers and other material, lined with fine grasses, mosses, and feathers, placed in trees or shrubs, usually less than 3 m (10 ft) from ground.
Nest Placement
Shrub
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Gleans from leaves and branches. Sometimes hawks insects in the air.
Conservation
Least Concern
Declining throughout most of range. Declines largely attributable to loss of breeding habitat through development and natural change of shrubby habitat to forest.
Credits
- Nolan, V., Jr., E. D. Ketterson, and C. A. Buerkle. 1999. Prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor). In The Birds of North America, No. 455 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.