Palm Warbler Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  Palm Warblers are small songbirds, but they are on the larger side for a warbler and have a fuller looking belly. Their posture is more upright than a typical warbler and more like a pipit—especially noticeable when they are on the ground. Their tails and legs are longer than most warblers contributing to the pipitlike shape.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, smaller than a Dark-eyed Junco.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
    • Weight: 0.3-0.5 oz (7-13 g)
    • Wingspan: 7.9-8.3 in (20-21 cm)

  © Luke Seitz / Macaulay Library

• Color Pattern

  Palm Warblers are dull brownish-olive above with yellow under the tail and throat. The outside corners of their tails flash white in flight. In eastern birds the belly is yellow, while in western birds the belly is white. Sexes are similar, and during the breeding season they have a rusty cap and some rusty streaking on the belly. Nonbreeding birds have paler yellow undertails and a dull brown crown.

• Behavior

  This is one bird where behavior—this bird’s near-constant tail-wagging—can help confirm its identity. They mainly forage on open ground or in low vegetation, rather than in forest canopy as many warblers do (although they do sing from high perches in trees and shrubs).
• Habitat

  During migration and winter Palm Warblers use weedy fields, forest edges, fence rows, and other areas with scattered trees and shrubs. They breed in the boreal forest of the far north, where they use bogs with scattered evergreen trees and thick ground cover.

Regional Differences

Plumage of Palm Warblers is different on either side of James Bay which lies between Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Palm Warblers east of James Bay (“Yellow” Palm Warblers) have entirely yellow underparts with stronger rusty streaks on the breast and yellow eyebrows. Those west of James Bay (“Western” Palm Warblers) have whitish bellies, yellow undertails, and pale eyebrows. During the breeding season, “Western” Palm Warblers also have a yellow throat with some rusty streaks on the breast. "Western" Palm Warblers winter primarily in the Caribbean while "Yellow" Palm Warblers winter primarily along the Gulf Coast, but the two subspecies mix in the southeastern United States.

Regional Photos

© Margaret Viens / Macaulay LibraryMaine, April 16, 2013

© Fyn Kynd / Macaulay LibraryMaine, October 18, 2015

© Yves Gauthier (Mtl) / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 09, 2017

© Brian Sullivan / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, October 13, 2016