Birds of Central Oklahoma

All birds New World Warblers

Orange-crowned Warbler, adult
Adult Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Passes through in April to May and again in October.

Recorded by Paul Driver. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, via xeno-canto, trimmed and volume evened out.

Look for

  1. A very plain bird, grayish or yellow-green, with no stripes on its wings.
  2. A dark line runs through each eye. The chest has blurry streaks.
  3. Its brightest yellow is under the tail. The orange patch on its head is almost never seen.

A little about it

Orange-crowned Warblers pass through here in April and May, and again in October. October has the most. In spring, they come through earlier than most warblers.

This warbler is tougher than most. In winter, most warblers are far south in the tropics. Lots of Orange-crowned Warblers stay in the southern states.

It usually hunts alone, low in the bushes, and flicks its tail as it looks for bugs. It also pokes a hole in the base of a flower to sip the sweet nectar. At feeders, it may eat suet or peanut butter.

The female builds a small cup nest. It's usually on the ground, tucked under plants that hide it from above. The young leave the nest at 10 to 13 days old, before they can fly well.

Fun fact

In winter, it may drink sap from a tree. It sips the sap that oozes out of little holes drilled by a sapsucker or another woodpecker.

When it's here

Taller bars mean more sightings. Most often seen in October.

More birds passing through in spring and fall

How big

SparrowRobinCrowGoose

4½ to 5½ inches. A little smaller than a sparrow.

Where to look

Brushy tangles and low bushes, in parks and gardens too. It stays fairly low, so check the bushes.

  • Yards and parks
  • In the woods

People have spotted it at Myriad Botanical Gardens, Martin Park Nature Center, Lake Overholser.

Could it be something else?

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet

    Also small and greenish. But a kinglet has a bold white ring around each eye and a white stripe across each wing. A kinglet flicks its wings, and this warbler flicks its tail.

  • Yellow Warbler

    Much yellower, with a plain yellow face that makes its dark eye stand out. Its wing feathers have yellow edges.

Where these facts come from