The prairie warbler (Setophaga discolor ) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
These birds have yellow underparts with dark streaks on the flanks, and olive overparts with rusty streaks on the back; they have a yellow line above the eye, a dark line through it, and a yellow spot below it. These birds have black legs, long tails, two pale wing bars, and thin pointed bills. Coloring is duller in female and immatures.
These birds are permanent residents in the southern parts of their range. Other birds migrate to north-eastern Mexico and islands in the Caribbean.
These birds wag their tails frequently.
Prairie warblers forage actively on tree branches, and sometimes fly around with the purpose of catching insects, which are the main food source of these birds.
Their breeding habitats are brushy areas and forest edges in eastern North America. The prairie warbler's nests are open cups, which are usually placed in a low area of a tree or shrub. Incubation period is 12 to 13 days.
The numbers of these birds are declining due to habitat loss; this species also suffers from nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird.
