The Tennessee warbler has long wings, short tail and a thin, pointy bill.

In winter and fall, adult male resembles juvenile and spring adult female but shows more yellow below: the grey neck and crown turn into an olive green while the underside takes a yellow hue.

This bird can be confused with the red-eyed vireo, which is larger, moves more deliberately and sings almost constantly.

The orange-crowned warbler can also look similar, but lacks the white eyebrow, is greyer-brown above and has yellow undertail coverts.

The Tennessee warbler breeds from the Adirondack Mountains in New York through northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine north and west throughout much of Canada.

It is migratory, wintering in southern Central America, the Caribbean, and northern Colombia and Venezuela, with a few stragglers going as far south as Ecuador.

The Tennessee warbler feeds mainly on insects and prefers the spruce budworm.