

The Birds · Plate CLXIX
Tennessee Warbler
Leiothlypis peregrina
Parulidae · Taxon 979756
| Length | Both sexes: 10–13 cm (3.9–5.1 in) |
| Wingspan | Both sexes: 19–20 cm (7.5–7.9 in) |
| Weight | Both sexes: 8–10 g (0.3 oz) |
Field marks
- Small, compact body with a short tail
- Thin, sharply pointed dark bill
- Gray-olive head with a pale eyebrow and dark eye
- Olive to yellow-green back and wings with weak or absent wingbars
- Plain whitish to yellow-washed underparts
- White undertail coverts contrasting with dusky legs and tail
HabitatBreeds in young or middle-aged boreal coniferous and mixed forests, especially areas with openings, dense shrubs, or boggy ground. During migration it uses many wooded habitats, groves, and brush; in winter it occupies open or semiopen tropical broadleaf and second-growth forests, including shade-grown plantations.
BehaviorActive foliage gleaner that hops and flits through outer leaves and slender branches, usually high in the canopy, taking caterpillars and other invertebrates. It often joins mixed-species foraging flocks outside the breeding season and may also eat fruit and nectar.
Palette