The foothills of interior southwestern Oregon come alive in late April with the bold song of this bright yellow warbler. Here it seems every brushy area or mixed conifer/hardwood forest with dense undergrowth has at least one male singing just beyond the reach of binoculars. Although it can be found in many other places in the state and in a variety of habitats, nowhere else is it as common.

Nashville's are one of the few warblers in the West to nest on the ground. They occupy diverse shrub communities, often including or adjacent to a relatively short or open tree canopy. It moves about rapidly in the understory and low in the canopy gleaning prey from leaves. Unlike eastern populations, birds of the western subspecies tent to be tail-bobbers.

It is fairly common breeding species in the interior southwest portion of the state below 4,000 feet. Nashville Warblers also breed regularly in the Columbia Gorge and along the eastern foothills of the Cascades in Wasco and Hood River counties. They are local elsewhere, including drier foothills near the southern Willamette Valley.

Hear the song of the Nashville warbler

Photo by Bill Majoros, Flickr