Guide to Boreal Birds
Perching Birds Overview
No bird is more aptly named: it nests exclusively in pine trees, spends much of its life there, and only during migration is found in shrubbery or the deciduous growth of parks and gardens. The Pine Warbler is relatively rare and local inland in the North.
Description
5 1/2" (14 cm). Unstreaked olive above, with yellow throat and breast; blurry streaking below; white belly; inconspicuous eye stripe; 2 white wing bars. Female and immature similar but duller; often lack yellowish color on breast.
Voice
Musical and somewhat melancholy, a soft, sweet version of the trill of the Chipping Sparrow.
Nesting
4 brown-spotted white eggs in a compact nest well concealed among pine needles near the tip of a horizontal branch, usually higher than 20' (6 m).
Habitat
Pine forests.
Range/Migration
Breeds from southeastern Manitoba, southern Ontario, and Maine south to eastern Texas, Gulf Coast, and Florida. Winters in southern states, occasionally north to New England.