Townsend's Warbler Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A small songbird, slender-bodied like many other warblers, with a short, fine bill and moderately long tail.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Golden-crowned Kinglet, smaller than a Song Sparrow.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 4.7-5.0 in (12-12.7 cm)
    • Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (7.3-10.4 g)
    • Wingspan: 7.5-8.3 in (19-21 cm)

• Color Pattern

  Adult males have a black head and throat with a gleaming golden face and black cheek patch. They have gray wings with white wingbars, an olive-green back, and a yellow breast with bold black flank streaks. Females and immatures are similar but less strongly marked.

• Behavior

  Townsend’s Warblers forage by gleaning, hovering, and hawking insects in the foliage of conifers (especially when breeding) and deciduous trees, often around the outer portion of the canopy. In winter, Townsend’s joins mixed-species flocks in California and in the highlands of Mexico and Central America.

• Habitat

  Breeding birds use mostly tall, old-growth coniferous and mixed woodlands, nesting and foraging mostly in the upper third of the trees. Migrating and wintering birds occupy a great variety of habitats, from chaparral to cloud forest to parks and backyards along the Pacific Coast.