Birds That Migrate to Tennessee

Bay-Breasted Warblers

• The bay-breasted warblers (Dendroica castaneaare) are active, high-pitched singing black-and-white birds that have a wingspan of 8 to 10 inches. The males have a red throat. They winter in Panama and breed in Canada, traveling through Tennessee between March and May.

Blackpoll Warbler

• The blackpoll warbler (Dendroica striata) of the family Parulidae (wood warblers), is a gray and black-striped bird with a black cap that has a wingspan between 8 and 10 inches. The little bird breeds in Yukon and Newfoundland and migrates to Brazil and Chile flying about 35 miles per day.

Cape May Warbler

• Cape may warbler (Dendroica tigrina) is another member of the warbler family that is a bright yellow and black-striped bird with chestnut-colored cheeks and a wingspan between 7 and 9 inches. Breeding in Canada, they migrate through Tennessee in the spring on their way to wintering in Mexico and the Caribbean.

Ovenbird

• The ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) is also known as the golden-crowned thrush (Turdus aurocapillus) and golden-crowned accentor (Seiurus aurocapillus). Wearing a crown of orange lined by brown and black bands, the ovenbird gets its name from the oven-styled ground nest that it builds. Like other warbler species, it migrates from Canada, but unlike others it may stay in the U.S. during winter, although some travel to South America.

Tennessee Warbler

• The Tennessee warbler (Vermivora peregrine) is another small bird with a wingspan of 7 to 8 inches. Although it spends some time in Tennessee after spring migration, the Tennessee warbler, also known as the Tennessee swamp warbler, travels to winter in Venezuela and Mexico and breeds across the northern United States.

White-Throated Sparrow

• The white-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) is slightly larger than other warblers with a 9- to10-inch wingspan. It has a white throat with a black-and-white-striped head with bright orange over each eye. Its body is variegated brown, black and gray, with a white belly. Spending its winters in the southern part of the United States, the birds migrate from Canada to Tennessee in April and May.

Connecticut Warbler

• The Connecticut warbler (Oporornis agilis) is an olive-colored bird with grayish-green sides. It has a ring of yellowish white around its eyes and the female has a band of brown across her breast. Its range is from the Midwestern states, up to Canada, and through the central United States, and it winters in South America.