Family: Parulidae, Wood Warblers view all from this family

Description 5 1/2" (14 cm). Male golden-orange with blue-gray wings; no wing bars; large white spots in tail. Female similar but duller.

Habitat Wooded swamps, flooded bottomland forests, and streams with dead trees.

Nesting 6 creamy-white, purple-spotted eggs in a tree cavity, hole in a stump, birdhouse, or other man-made structure, such as a mailbox. The hole is stuffed with mosses to form a nest cup.

Range Breeds mainly in southeastern states north to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. Winters in tropics.

Voice   Song a ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet; also a canary-like flight song. Call a loud, metallic chip.

Discussion This is one of the characteristic birds of the southern swamplands, where its bright plumage is conspicuous in the gloomy, cypress-lined bayous. It is unusual among warblers in that it nests in holes in trees; this may be an adaptation to a habitat where such holes are numerous but where dense bushes -- the usual warbler nesting sites -- are scarce.