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Nashville Warbler
(Vermivora ruficapilla)
Banded October 9, 1997 - Carmel, Indiana
General Information
The Nashville Warbler is a winter resident of Central America as far south
as Costa Rica. Two races are generally recognized each breeding in two widely separated
regions of North America. The eastern race breeds in northeastern North America and the
western race in central western North America.
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This petite warbler received its name in the
spring of 1810, along with the Kentucky, Tennessee, and Magnolia Warblers, from Alexander
Wilson as he met these species on his southward journey from Louisville, KY to New
Orleans, LA (Mearns and Mearns 1992). |
Figure 1 - Nashville Warbler
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Figure 2 - Nashville Warbler
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The individual shown here, captured in
central Indiana, is a member of the eastern race that breeds in northeastern North
America. It is small, with a bold white eye-ring, a grayish head, olive green upperparts
and yellowish underparts with a touch of white on the lower belly.
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In the male, the bold white eye ring is set
off by the gray color of the crown, nape, ear-coverts and sides of the head. The base of
the lower mandible is flesh colored. |
Figure 3 - Nashville Warbler
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 Figure 4 - Nashville Warbler
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Upperparts are olive green. Flight feathers
are dark olive green with paler feather edges. |
Figure 5 - Upper Wing
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Figure 6 - Upperwing Coverts
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Underwing coverts are also olive green. Here,
the alula feather at the top center of the photograph is easily seen. This feather
functions like a leading edge flap to control air flow over the top of the wing to prevent
stalling at slow speeds and during landings.
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Flanks and the underparts are bright yellow.
Note, however, the white patch on the belly at the base of the legs. The orange color on
the soles of the feet is also quite noticeable. |
Figure 7 - Primary Flight Feathers
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Figure 8 - Tail Feathers
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Tail feathers are also dark olive green with
lighter feather edges. In adult birds, the tail feathers are truncate rather than pointed. |
Undertail coverts are also bright yellowish. |
Figure 9 - Tail Feathers
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Nesting Behavior
The female builds a cup small cup nest on the ground usually in a shrubby thicket in
open woodland. Four or five eggs are incubated by the female for almost two weeks. Young
are fed by both parents.
Banding Recoveries
According to records at the Bird Banding Laboratory in Laurel, MD, a total of 113,392
Nashville Warblers have been banded since 1955. Of these, only 27 have been recovered, a
recovery rate of 0.023%.
Conservation Status
Overall, populations of Nashville Warblers are increasing, but in some parts of its
range, especially in the eastern race, populations are declining. As successional habitats
continue to change both locally and regionally, the availability of the Nashville
Warbler’s preferred scrubby and open wooded habitat will dictate local population
trends.
Literature Cited
Mearns, B. and R. Mearns. 1992. Audubon to Xántus. The lives of those commemorated in
North American bird names. Academic Press, New York. 588 Pp.
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