These birds have black legs, long tails, two pale wing bars, and thin pointed bills.

Their breeding habitats are brushy areas and forest edges in eastern North America.

The prairie warbler's nests are open cups, which are usually placed in a low area of a tree or shrub.

[2] Prairie warblers forage actively on tree branches, and sometimes fly around with the purpose of catching insects, which are the main food source of these birds.

The numbers of these birds are declining due to habitat loss; this species also suffers from nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird.