The Nashville warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla) is a tiny songbird of the New World warbler family that is distributed throughout North and Central America. The species was named after Alexander Wilson, who first spotted it in Nashville in 1811 and went on to identify it. Nashville Warblers have been observed nesting with porcupine quills.
Quick Overview: Leiothlypis Ruficapilla – Nashville Warbler
Body size: Around 4.75 in (12 cm) and a weight of 9 g (.3 oz)
Main colors: Olive-Green, Yellow, White, Chestnut-Brown, Gray
Range: Throughout the United States
Migratory Bird: Yes
Best time of the year to see in the U.S.: March, April, May, September, October, November
Conservation Status: Least Concern
Nashville Warbler Description
Olive-green upper parts, yellow underparts, and a white lower belly characterize this little warbler. Cap is a little chestnut-brown color and is hardly apparent. The gray hood goes all the way to the back, and the eye ring is white.
Size
These birds have a length of 4.75 in (12 cm) and a weight of 9 g (.3 oz). Their wings could range from 7.25-7.75 in (18-20 cm).
Feeding
Adults consume beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, leafhoppers, aphids, and several other insects, as well as their eggs and larvae. Caterpillars, tiny beetles, flies, and other insects are fed to nestlings.
Habitat
Lives in deciduous and coniferous forests, as well as bogs and thickets. In the northern portion of the range, prefers cedar and spruce bogs, abandoned fields, and mountain meadows with saplings and young trees in the eastern United States.
Behavior
Forages by gleaning food from vegetation, typically in the forest’s mid-levels.
Leiothlypis Ruficapilla Scientific Classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Parulidae
- Genus: Leiothlypis
- Species: Leiothlypis ruficapilla
Best time of the year to see
In the United States, the best time of year to see these birds are during the Spring season (March-May) and during the Autumn season (September – November).
Distribution of the Nashville Warbler in the USA
Breeds between British Columbia and northwest Montana and central California and central Idaho; and between Manitoba, Quebec, and Nova Scotia and Minnesota, northern West Virginia, and western Maryland. Winters south of the United States-Mexico border.
The Nashville Warbler can be found in the following states in the United States – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
