Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This and the Blackpoll Warbler have the most northern breeding ranges of our warblers; A full 98 percent of all Palm Warblers breed in Canada’s boreal forest, far, far north of the nearest palm trees. Palm Warblers winter along the Gulf Coast and the southeastern Atlantic coast as well as in the Caribbean, so many do spend time near palm trees, but this warbler mostly forages on the ground, not in trees, making its name inappropriate at any season.

Nevertheless, it’s fun to watch wherever we see it. Palm Warblers have wide differences in plumage between Western and Eastern forms, but their yellow undertail feathers and constant tail-wagging make identification straightforward and usually quite simple.