Warbler is a group of small, migratory songbirds native to the Americas. This group is also known as wood-warblers, or New World warblers. Warbler also is used to refer to several other birds, including the olive warbler. Such warblers as the olive warbler are not closely related to wood-warblers. This article describes wood-warblers. They live in the Americas from the tropics to the far north. Most of them are about 5 1/2 inches (14 centimeters) long. Warblers are hard to see because they are small and they keep close to the foliage of trees and bushes. Their feathers are of many beautiful colors. People enjoy the quick movements and abrupt, high-pitched songs of warblers.
Blackburnian warbler
Many warblers winter in South and Central America, and migrate through the United States late in the spring. In May, they begin to appear in woods, in city parks, and in trees near buildings. Many species (kinds) go on farther north for their nesting. Some warblers go as far north as Hudson Bay and the Canadian territory of Yukon, but others nest in the Southern States.
Loading the player...Hooded warbler
Warblers build their nests in trees and bushes or on the ground. The nests are usually cup-shaped, and loosely built of twigs and grasses woven together, but some are compact structures of plant down. The female warbler lays from three to six eggs, which are whitish with brownish markings at the larger end.
Loading the player...Yellow warbler
Many kinds of warblers have fine singing voices. Others sing only weak, lisping notes. There are more than 150 species and subspecies of warblers. Some of the better-known ones are the yellow warbler, the black-and-white warbler, and the yellow-rumped warbler. Yellow warblers are common in city parks. The black-and-white warbler likes to creep along the branches of trees. The yellow-rumped warbler has four yellow patches on its head, rump, and breast.
Another well-known warbler is the American redstart. It is colored a striking black with salmon markings, and looks somewhat like a small oriole. The redstart is one of the most active and graceful of American warblers. The Blackburnian warbler has a bright orange throat. Two other warblers are named for their colors. They are the black-throated green warbler and the black-throated blue warbler. The ovenbird has a dull orange stripe on its head, a white breast marked with black, and an olive-green back. It is named for its ovenlike nest.
Loading the player...Yellow-rumped warbler
Warblers help farmers by killing insects that destroy fruits and strip trees of their leaves. Warblers search in tiny cracks in the bark and in fruit buds for insects that might escape larger birds.
Loading the player...Black-and-white warbler
