Chestnut-sided Warbler

 The chestnut-sided warbler is a colorful mid-sized warbler that lives in North, Central and South America. They get their name from the maroon patch of feathers on the side of their bodies. The only other warbler that has this color feather on their bodies is the bay breasted warbler but the male bay breasted has the same color on its face. The female bay breasted does not have a maroon face, like the male, but can be distinguished from the chestnut-sided because she does not have the bright yellow cap.

Chestnut-sided warbler breed in the north eastern half of the U.S. and the south eastern half of Canada. They tend to nest in second growth deciduous woods. The nest is cup shaped and it is usually placed in a bush. Chestnut-sided warblers nest in the north east corner of Minnesota, which is where I photographed this first year bird. They migrate down to the tropical forests of Central America and northern South America for the winter. During the winter they will mix with flocks of tropical warblers often returning to the same flocks year after year.