Townsend’s Warbler

Compared to the Eastern United States, we have relatively few species of warblers in Northern California. Considering that tackling the identification of 56 warblers in North America is worthy of its own guidebook, app and LPs (such as The Warbler Guide and Songs of the Warblers of North America), it is really in our favor that we can select from a small collection of species while craning our necks and arching our backs to identify these tiny birds flitting high up in tall trees.

One thing of note is that nearly all warblers found regularly in our area have some yellow feathers (Black-throated Gray Warbler being an exception). Among these yellow birds, Townsend’s Warbler (Setophaga townsendi) has the most striking facial pattern of yellow and black.

Female top, male bottom; taken respectively on November 24 and December 30, 2018. By Minder Cheng.

According to the checklist of the Garden, there are only two months of a year when we have no records of Townsend’s Warbler. It means that of the six warblers (family: Parulidae) that have been sighted in the Garden, Townsend’s has the honor of being here the longest. However, it is not the most abundant nor the easiest to see. And it does not even breed in our area.

Townsend’s Warblers nest in mature conifers in the Pacific Northwest, in the mountains of Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, and in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. Some of them spend their fall and winter along the coast from Washington down to California, and some fly farther south to Baja California, other parts of Mexico, and even Central America. The reason we see them in all months other than June and July is that the Garden attracts both winter residents and those migrating through our area.

Since they do not nest here, we usually don’t hear their songs, but only their soft chip calls emitted as they glean insects in the foliage. If you are familiar with Yellow-rumped Warbler’s chip calls, Townsend’s call is less forceful than that and sometimes in a fast sequence.

When Townsend’s Warblers first arrive in early fall, or in late spring right before they leave for the higher latitude, occasionally we get to hear a male sing. I remember that on the day (August 29, 2015) we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Garden with an open house, a Townsend’s Warbler broke into song in the morning drizzle as I walked past the shrubs by the pond. Perhaps the unusual chilliness and rain reminded him of his home up north.

For songs and calls of Townsend’s Warbler, Peterson’s Guide to Bird Sounds has a great collection of recordings. If you have the app of The Sibley’s Guide to Birds, check out their recordings of Townsend’s Warbler, which are completely different from Peterson’s. That demonstrates how much variation there can be in the vocal repertoire of a warbler.