Prairie Warbler

These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks. In males, the back is olive green with chestnut or rufuos streaks. A black stripe runs through the eye, and another black stripe runs from the beak down the throat. This semicircular stripe gives them a distinctive "tired" look. They have two faint wing bars. Their tails have large white areas, and they have dark legs. Coloring is duller in females and immature birds, and streaks are fainter or absent. The subspecies S. d. paludicola is also duller overall.

Measurements. The prairie warbler typically measures from 11 to 13 cm (4.3 to 5.1 in) in length. The typical adult wingspan measures from 5.4 to 5.8 cm (2.1 to 2.3 in) for males or 5.1 to 5.7 cm (2.0 to 2.2 in) for females. The bird weighs about 7.7 g (0.27 oz). The tail of an adult male measures from 4.7 to 5.1 cm (1.9 to 2.0 in), the exposed culmen measures from 9 to 10 mm (0.35 to 0.39 in), and the tarsus measures from 17 to 19 mm (0.67 to 0.75 in).

Vocalizations. Prairie warblers have two categories of songs, referred to as Type A and Type B. Type A songs are typically a series of ascending buzzy notes. The B songs are an ascending series of whistled notes that often contain some buzzy notes. Compared to A songs, the B songs are lower in pitch and have fewer, longer notes. The total song length is longer as well in Type B songs. …

The full breeding range of the subspecies S. d. discolor includes much of the eastern United States, with the highest population density in the southeast. Isolated populations have been observed as far west as Kansas, Iowa, and Michigan. Their reach extends as far north as Ontario and New Brunswick in Canada. The winter range of S. d. discolor includes the southern portion of Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the eastern coast of Mexico and further along the coast of Central America as far south as Honduras. The subspecies S. d. paludicola inhabits the coasts of Florida year-round.

Prairie warblers forage for insects. The majority of their foraging behavior comprises gleaning from twigs, leaves, and infrequently trunks and branches. Less common tactics include fly-catching, hovering, and chasing. Rarely, they have been observed pecking the ground, feeding on nectar, and web-picking.