The Prairie Warbler is misleadingly named — it is not a bird of prairies at all, but of scrubby young growth, brushy fields, and open pine and jack pine barrens. Bright yellow below with bold black streaks along the sides and distinctive black face markings (a curved line under the eye), and an olive back flecked with chestnut, it is a handsome little warbler that constantly bobs its tail as it forages low in the shrubs. Its song is easy to learn: a rising series of buzzy notes climbing the scale, "zee-zee-zee-zee-zee."
Prairie Warblers reach the northern edge of their range in Michigan, breeding locally in scrubby fields, regenerating clearings, and young pine and jack pine stands, favoring the same kind of open, brushy, early-successional habitat that suits several declining shrubland birds. They forage actively in the low vegetation for insects and spiders, tail wagging, before migrating to the Caribbean for winter. Finding a singing male in a jack pine opening or a brushy old field is a treat in the parts of the state where they occur.
Gleans insects, caterpillars, and spiders from the leaves and twigs of low shrubs and young trees, foraging actively in brushy vegetation while frequently bobbing its tail. It hunts within the dense low cover of scrubby fields and pine barrens where it also nests.
No — the name is misleading. It favors scrubby young growth, brushy fields, and open pine and jack pine barrens, not grassland prairies. It was named from an early, loosely used sense of "prairie."
Look for a small warbler, bright yellow below with bold black side streaks, black face markings, and an olive back with chestnut flecks, bobbing its tail as it forages low. Its rising, buzzy "zee-zee-zee" song climbing the scale is also distinctive.
Locally, at the northern edge of its range, in scrubby fields, regenerating clearings, and young pine and jack pine stands. It favors the same open, brushy habitat used by several shrubland specialists.
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