Pine Warbler Identification Tips
(Credit: U. S. Geological Survey)
 
General Information
- Small, active, insect-eating bird
- Thin, pointed bill
- Faint yellowish supercilium
- Olive upperparts with unstreaked back
- Yellow throat and breast with blurry streaks on sides
- White belly and undertail coverts
- White wing bars
- Dark legs

Adult male
- Bright yellow throat and breast

Female and immature
- Plumage similar to male but duller
- Brownish tinged upperparts

Similar species
The relatively plain face pattern and yellow throat and breast of the Pine Warbler is somewhat similar to the Yellow-throated Vireo but the vireo has spectacles and a thicker bill. In Fall, the plumage is similar to the basic and immature plumages of several other warblers.

The Blackburnian Warbler has white streaks on the back and a broader supercilium. Blackpoll Warbler has yellow legs and feet and a streaked back. Bay-breasted Warbler also has a streaked back, buffy undertail coverts and less streaking on the breast. Cape May Warbler has more streaking across the breast and a pale mark on the side of the neck. Orange-crowned Warbler has yellow undertail coverts and lacks wing bars.
 
 
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