If you find yourself in or around Kentucky this August, get ready to see a wide array of warblers migrating south through the state this month.

August marks the beginning of the southward migration of many warbler species. Most warblers are small songbirds that eat invertebrates like caterpillars, worms, insects, or spiders. While a few warblers in this family live on the ground, most live in the trees, gleaning their food off the undersides of leaves.

Warblers also often have very bright or flashy plumage. This is especially so in species that migrate as opposed to more tropical species that stay near the equator year-round. The need to travel further north to breeding grounds has led to greater competition between males reclaiming territory during the breeding season and having more eye-catching plumage to attract females each year.

One group of these colorful warblers is the genus Setophaga. Many of these warblers have bright yellow, solid black, or both! Some birds from the genus Setophaga will be migrating through Kentucky this month including the Cape May, Magnolia, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated green warblers.

By contrast, two warbler species migrating through Kentucky, the Tennessee and Nashville warblers, belong to the genus Leiothlypis, named from the Ancient Greek word leios meaning plain. While these two birds are also overall yellow, their color is muted in even the male breeding plumage.

Have you seen any of these warblers before? Which of these is your favorite? Send us your comments and photos through our contact page and stay tuned for more birds to watch out for!

Mind the Migration! Alert for the Month of August