[6] The shape of the basihyal bone in the skull, and aspects of its behaviour led to the suggestion that it was instead an Old World warbler in the family Sylviidae.

[8] The generic name of the olive warbler, Peucedramus, is derived from the Greek peuke for a fir tree and dromos for runner, (from trekho, meaning run), a reference to its feeding habitat and behaviour.

The species name, taeniatus, is from the Latin taenia for a headband, and atus for possessing, a reference to its facial markings.

It shows clinal variation in size, with more northern populations being larger than southern ones, a phenomenon known as Bergmann's rule.

[11] The olive warbler is distributed from the southwestern United States to Nicaragua, making it the only bird family endemic to North America.

It has a disjunct distribution across the rest of its range, with populations in Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico, and further south in southwest Guatemala and from northern El Salvador and central Honduras to northern Nicaragua.

[6] In coastal regions stands of palms may be used, and in the Valley of Mexico pine and alder forests are inhabited.

It has been suggested that they are either "down slope migrants", moving to lower elevations, or dispersive, as some records show their presence in Texas.

No specific information exists about the actual prey species taken, except that they will take the larvae of Tortricidae moths.