Pine Warbler

Setophaga pinus

The only warbler that eats lots of seeds. Visits feeders, sings a slow musical trill from the pines.

Population: ~13 million (Partners in Flight global breeding population estimate), increasing ~1.3%/year 1966-2019 (North American Breeding Bird Survey)
Habitat: Open pine and mixed pine-deciduous woods and plantations (jack, pitch, red, white, Virginia, loblolly, shortleaf, slash, sand, and pond pines); rarely seen away from pine trees, foraging along trunks and branches in the mid-to-upper canopy.
Fun fact: The Pine Warbler is the only North American wood-warbler that regularly eats large quantities of seeds, and captive studies show its gut physically remodels (larger gizzard, longer intestine) depending on whether it's eating seeds or fruit.
Range: Eastern North America: year-round resident across the southeastern U.S. (especially Florida) and Bahamas; breeds north into southeastern Canada and the northeastern/midwestern U.S.; northern breeders migrate short distances to the Gulf Coast, northeastern Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean for winter.
Diet: Primarily insects (caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers, bugs, ants, bees, flies, cockroach eggs, spiders) gleaned from pine bark, branches, and needles; unusually among wood-warblers it also eats large quantities of pine seeds (probing pine cones), plus fruits/berries (e.g. bayberry, dogwood), and visits feeders for seeds/suet in winter.
Size: 0.1365 m
Wingspan: 0.222 m
Lifespan: 7.8 years

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