Swainson's Warbler Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A solidly built songbird, with a rather flat head, heavy bill and strong legs for a warbler.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Carolina Chickadee, smaller than an Eastern Towhee; close in length to a Yellow-rumped Warbler but sturdier.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
    • Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (11-15 g)
    • Wingspan: 8.7-9.4 in (22-24 cm)

• Color Pattern

  Brownish olive above, pale below, with brown cap (in males, with chestnut cast in good light), pale supercilium (“eyebrow”), and indistinct eyeline.

• Behavior

  Forages unobtrusively, largely on the ground, walking through leaf litter and flipping leaves with long bill to find prey. Males sing from favorite perches in spring. Flies swiftly between perches.

• Habitat

  Breeds in southeastern forests with well-developed understory, especially bottomland hardwood forests and moist mountain ravines, but also in young pine plantations in some areas. Winters in many different forested habitats in the Caribbean.