The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern United States. [Wikipedia]
A common bird of second growth and scrubby forests, the Chestnut-sided Warbler is distinctive in appearance. No other warbler combines a greenish-yellow cap, a white breast, and reddish streaks down the sides. [All About Birds]
Chestnut-sided Warbler Facts [All About Birds]
- On the wintering grounds in Central America, the Chestnut-sided Warbler joins in mixed-species foraging flocks with the resident Antwrens and Tropical Warblers. An individual warbler will return to the same area in subsequent years, joining back up with the same foraging flock it associated with the year before.
- The Chestnut-sided Warbler sings two basic song types: one is accented at the end (the pleased-to-MEETCHA song), and the other is not. The accented songs are used primarily to attract a female and decrease in frequency once nesting is well underway. The unaccented songs are used mostly in territory defense and aggressive encounters with other males. Some males sing only unaccented songs, and they are less successful at securing mates than males that sing both songs.
- The oldest recorded Chestnut-sided Warbler was at least 6 years, 11 months old when it was found in Rhode Island in 1980. It had been banded in the same state in 1973.