PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
SR

This is a long name for a tiny bird only five and a half inches long. Unlike most other warblers, the prothonotary is very easy to identify. It is a striking looking bird with a head, neck and underparts the color of a ripe orange. The wings and tail are gray, flecked with white.

Do not look for this little fellow away from a swamp or stream. It is a southern bird and does not extend its range even to Canada. Trees heavy with Spanish moss or a thicket of young cypress trees would be the spot it chooses to build a home. The nest is usually in the deserted hole of a small woodpecker and can be found at elevations ranging from two to fifteen feet. Nearly always the stump or dead tree will be in or leaning over water.

When they arrive in the spring, their coming is announced by strong calls of "tweet-tweet-tweet'' all on the same key. When alarmed during nesting season, they utter a soft but persistent "cheep".

Like all warblers, the prothonotary is very active. It is excellent on the wing after insects but also covers branches and trunks of trees in the manner of nuthatches. In different localities, it is called golden warbler, golden swamp warbler, and willow warbler. These names are more fitting than prothonotary which comes from the title of a court clerk who traditionally wore a bright orange-yellow robe.

Wildlife Neighbors Home Page