The Pine Warbler is commonly found in eastern pine forests and rarely strays from pine trees. These yellowish warblers move along high branches, probing clumps of needles with their sturdy bills.

Basic Info:

- Scientific Name: Setophaga pinus
- Lifespan: Less than five years
- Size: 5–5.75 in
- Weight: 0.42 oz
- Wingspan: 8.75 in

Distribution and Habitat:

Pine Warblers breed in open pine woods in eastern North America and reside permanently in southern Florida. Some migrate to northeastern Mexico and islands in Bermuda and the Caribbean.

In the Backyard:

The Pine Warbler is the only warbler that regularly eats seeds, including millet, cracked corn, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet during winter. It also feeds on fruits from bushes and vines like bayberry, flowering dogwood, grape, sumac, and persimmon.

Breeding:

Nests are built between 8 and 12 meters off the ground on horizontal branches, made from strips of bark, plant stems, pine twigs, and leaves, bound with silk from caterpillar cocoons or spider webs. Females incubate a clutch of 4 spotted eggs, occasionally 3 or 5 in rare cases.

Appearance:

These birds have white bellies, two white wing bars, dark legs, and thin, relatively long pointed bills. Adult males have olive upperparts and bright yellow throats and breasts, while females and immature individuals display olive-brown upperparts and paler throats and breasts.

Behavior:

Pine Warblers were observed foraging with wintering Blackburnian and Tennessee warblers as part of a mixed-species feeding flock.