Skip to main content

Attention hunters: Visit our FAQ page for information about the use of centerfire, single-shot rifles for deer hunting in Illinois. 

Governor JB Pritzker Illinois.gov Contact IDNR DNR A to Z

Tennessee warbler

Tennessee warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) [female]
Photo © Alan Murphy Photography

Tennessee warbler (Leiothlypis peregrina) [male]
Photo © Alan Murphy Photography

Features and Behaviors

FEATURES
The Tennessee warbler is about four and three-fourths inches long (tail tip to bill tip in preserved specimen). It has a white stripe over the eye and a relatively short tail. There are white feathers on the body below the tail feathers. The breeding male has gray head feathers and green-gray back feathers. The female and immature birds have green-brown feathers on the head and back with some yellow coloration on the belly feathers.

BEHAVIORS
This species nests mainly in woodlands in Canada. Spring migrants begin arriving in Illinois in April. Fall migrants are seen in the state starting in July. The Tennessee warbler winters from Mexico to northern South America. It eats insects and fruits.

Illinois Range

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae

Illinois Status: common, native

Printable PDF
Accessible PDF