Paruline des prés— Quebec wildlife

The prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.

Description

These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks. In males, the back is olive green with chestnut or rufuos streaks. A black stripe runs through the eye, and another black stripe runs from the beak down the throat. This semicircular stripe gives them a distinctive "tired" look. They have two faint wing bars. Their tails have large white areas, and they have dark legs. Coloring is duller in females and immature birds, and streaks are fainter or absent. The subspecies S. d. paludicola is also duller overall.

Habitat and range

The full breeding range of the subspecies S. d. discolor includes much of the eastern United States, with the highest population density in the southeast. Isolated populations have been observed as far west as Kansas, Iowa, and Michigan. Their reach extends as far north as Ontario and New Brunswick in Canada. The winter range of S. d. discolor includes the southern portion of Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the eastern coast of Mexico and further along the coast of Central America as far south as Honduras. The subspecies S. d. paludicola inhabits the coasts of Florida year-round.