Swainson's Warbler

Overview

The Swainson's warbler is a small, rather undistinguished songbird that is fairly large for a New World warbler. It is monotypic, being the only member of the genus Limnothlypis, and is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Plain olive-brown upperparts and pale yellow-white underparts.
• A whitish eyebrow stripe runs above the eye, with a rusty brown crown.
• Adults measure 12.5–16 cm in length and weigh between 11–20.5 g.
• There is no difference in appearance between males and females.

Habitat

Mostly found in flooded swamplands and canebrakes of the south-eastern United States, with rarer occurrences in rhododendron thickets in the southern Appalachian Mountains. As a migratory species, populations travel to the Greater Antilles or the Yucatán Peninsula region for the winter.

Did you know?

It is hypothesised that hybrid offspring of birds from different subpopulations may attempt to migrate into an intermediate direction, leading them deep into the Caribbean where the absence of wintering or stopover points would almost certainly cause their death.