Rex Trulove
Townsend’s Warblers are pretty little songbirds that are found throughout the Pacific Northwest. They are birds that breed in the north and in the mountains, including in northwest Montana and through British Columbia, Canada, with some seen in Ontario.
These are birds of the coniferous forests, particularly in the summer. They are primarily insect eaters, often hunting in the upper parts of the trees. When they aren’t breeding, they are highly social birds and often flock with other bird species.
These are small birds, normally less than 5 inches long, with an 8-inch wingspan. They are also colorful, with yellow, black, and white patterns. Even the females have this coloration, though not as pronounced as in the males. They can often be seen singing from a perch in the open as if to draw attention to themselves.
These warblers normally lay 3-5 eggs which hatch in a little less than two weeks. The young leave the nest about 10 days after they hatch.
These aren’t noisy birds and their voice tends to be soft, but they are quite active and genuinely fun to watch.
-
Which description do you think best fits this bird?
-
cute
-
pretty
-
beautiful
-
Interesting
-
just another bird
-
Most all birds are beautiful to me. Another warbler I do not know.
There are some similar warbler species found elsewhere in the US, but this one is limited to the western US.
To look at, it reminds me of the grey or yellow wagtail, but these are ground feeders rather than tree dwellers.
There are some warblers that tend to dwell closer to the ground, but this one definitely likes trees. Still, I’ve seen them fluttering around in ornamental cedars that were only about 8 feet tall.