the nashville warbler (oreothlypis ruficapilla) is a small songbird in the new world warbler family , found in north and central america .
it breeds in parts of the northern and western united states and southern canada , and migrates to winter in southern california and texas , mexico , and the north of central america .
it has a gray head and a green back , and its underparts are yellow and white .
at 12 cm (4.7 in), the nashville warbler is a small warbler .
both male and female nashville warblers have a gray head fading into a greenish back and wings , a white belly and a yellow throat and breast .
they have a complete white eye ring , no wing bars , and a thin pointed black bill .
adult males have a rusty brown patch on their crown , which is usually hard to see and often covered by gray feathers .
males will raise it slightly when agitated .
females and immature birds have a duller olive-grey head , and less bold yellow on their throat .
males have wingspans of 5.86.6 cm (2.32.6 in), and females 5.36.1 centimetres (2.12.4 in) .
the nashville warbler is closely related to virginia's warbler , lucy's warbler , and the colima warbler , the four sharing generally similar plumage .
the song of the nominate subspecies consists of a rapid seewit-seewit-seewit-ti-ti-ti .
males sing from open perches on the nesting territory .
the call sounds like a high seet .
western birds of the race ridgwayi have a slightly lower-pitched , richer song , and a sharper call note .
the nashville warbler was originally described as sylvia ruficapilla by alexander wilson in 1811, using a name which had already been used by john latham , but not in a valid description according to the international code of zoological nomenclature .
possibly unintentionally , wilson spelled its name as sylvia rubricapilla in a later volume in 1812, and this spelling was once commonly used .
the genus sylvia is now restricted to old world species of the family sylviidae , unrelated to species such as the nashville warbler , that are classified in the new world warbler family parulidae .
until recently , most taxonomies have put this species in the genus vermivora .
however , this species forms a clade with several related species classed in vermivora , such as the tennessee warbler and lucy's warbler , which are more closely related to the flame-throated warbler and crescent-chested warbler than to other species of vermivora .
they therefore are now classified in the genus oreothlypis along with the flame-throated and crescent-chested warblers , although the new genus leothlypis was initially proposed for the nashville warbler and allies , excluding the latter two species .
two subspecies exist , with discrete breeding ranges .
the nominate subspecies , o .
r .
ruficapilla , breeds in northeastern north america .
the other subspecies , o .
r .
ridgwayi , known as the calaveras warbler , nests in western north america .
the latter differs from the former in its relatively duller plumage and more persistent tail movements .
nashville warblers breed in two distinct areas , one in canada and the northeastern united states , and another in the western united states .
the northeastern part of its range extends from cte-nord and cape breton island in eastern canada to central alberta .
for the most part , it only breeds between about 52 and 45.5 degrees north , but it is also found less commonly in the appalachians of pennsylvania and west virginia .
although named after nashville , tennessee , the nashville warbler only visits that area during migration .
they migrate to southernmost texas and california , mid-mexico , and the northernmost parts of central america (guatemala and el salvador) in winter .
in their breeding range , they prefer open mixed woods and bog habitats .
nashville warblers forage by gleaning in the lower parts of trees and shrubs , frequently flicking their tails .
in winter , they join together into loose flocks , and sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks .
these birds mainly eat insects , but will supplement this diet with berries and nectar in the winter .
nashville warblers conceal their nests on the ground under shrubs .
nests are open cups built out of bark strips , leaves , and moss , and are lined with fine materials such as feathers or hairs .
typically four or five eggs are laid in a clutch , and incubated for 1112 days .
only the female incubates the eggs , though the male brings her food .
on hatching , the young have no feathers apart from some brown down , and their eyes are closed .
juveniles fledge and leave the nest 11 days after hatching .
there is a single record of hybridization with the tennessee warbler .
