Chestnut-Sided Warbler Identification
A tiny, fast-moving warbler is always a challenge for birders to identify. Look for chestnut streaks on the bird’s sides to know for sure whether you’ve spotted a chestnut-sided warbler. Males have a bright yellow cap and black streaks over the eyes; wings have yellow accents.
Females have similar plumage to males, although diluted. They can lack the male’s chestnut accents, and streaks over the eyes appear grayish rather than bold black.
During nonbreeding season, males adopt a slightly different plumage. They lose their black eye streaks and gain a white ring around the eyes, and the chestnut sides take on a lighter, streaky quality.
For another clue to help identify these warblers, watch their tails.
“One of the fun things about them, which I learned in Costa Rica, is that of all warblers, they hold their tails up the most,” says Dr. Kevin J. McGowan, senior course developer for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy. “You’re so used to the yellow crown and the chestnut sides, and the female being that yellowish green, but if you think about it—yeah, they do. They keep their tail up more than other warblers do, for sure.”
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Range and Habitat
As is the case with many warblers, the chestnut-sided warbler flies through much of the eastern half of the United States during its spring and fall migration journeys. It spends the breeding season in the northern United States and Canada (with a section of its range extending through West Virginia).
Chestnut-sided warblers usually stay in new-growth forests recovering from damage of some kind (logging, fire, or storms). When a habitat becomes too “grown over,” they’ll move on to another regenerating habitat.
“They’re in second-growth, so not mature forests,” Kevin says. “When you get into a solid, closed-canopy forest, they drop out. They do tend to be in more open areas, which does make them easier to spot.”
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What Does a Chestnut-Sided Warbler Eat?
Chestnut-sided warblers eat a typical warbler diet: which is to say, they mostly eat bugs. They’ll dine on caterpillars and fly larvae, as well as moths, beetles, and other flying insects that they dart out to catch in midair. They’ll also find bugs on the undersides of leaves as they hop through shrubs and trees.
Because they don’t eat seed, it’s unlikely one would visit a feeder; however, it might stop by a bird bath.
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Nest and Eggs
Females build a cup-style nest low to the ground, in shrubs or deciduous trees. They typically lay four eggs, although they can lay as few as three or as many as five, and they’ll have up to two broods per season.
The female incubates the eggs for about a week and a half, and after another week and a half after hatching, the young are ready to leave the nest.
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Chestnut-Sided Warbler Song
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About the Expert
Lifelong birder and ornithologist Dr. Kevin McGowan is a senior course developer for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird Academy. He earned a Ph.D in biology at the University of South Florida.
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