Chestnut-sided Warbler
Setophaga pensylvanica
Their song is famously remembered by the mnemonic 'Please-please-please-to-meet-cha!'
- Scientific name
- Setophaga pensylvanica
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Parulidae › Setophaga
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Early successional deciduous forests, scrubby second-growth, and forest edges.
- Diet
- Primarily insectivorous, consuming caterpillars, flies, and beetles; occasionally eats berries in winter.
- Range
- Eastern North America, Central Canada, Central America
- Size
- 10-14 cm length, 19-21 cm wingspan
- Lifespan
- 4 to 7 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, window collisions during migration, and pesticide exposure.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Best observed from a distance with binoculars to avoid disturbing foraging or nesting behaviors. If you find a grounded fledgling, leave it be unless it is in immediate danger; if injured, contact a local avian wildlife rehabilitator.
The chestnut-sided warbler ( Setophaga pensylvanica ) is a New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America and in southern Canada westwards to the Canadian Prairies. They also breed in the Great Lakes region and in the eastern United States.
Photo: Michael Nerrie, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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