Yellow Warbler Nest - Dendroica petechia

The Yellow Warbler chooses a nest site in shrubby growth close to swamps or watercourses. This nest was built on a bank about 3 meters above the water and about 1.5 meters inland.

The female chooses an upright twig fork of a shrub or tree, between 2 and 12 feet off the ground. This nest is in a dogwood shrub and is 28 inches above the ground.

My Peterson Field Guide on nests reports the typical dimensions of a Yellow Warbler nest. The inside diameter is 1.75 to 2.0 inches, outside diameter 2.25 to 3 inches, depth 1.25 to 1.5 inches, and height 2 to 5 inches. The measurements of this nest correspond nicely.

The female builds the nest in four days. The neat and compact cup is fashioned from dry weed-stem fibers, fine grass stems, wool, and plant down. The nest is lined with fine plant fibers, cotton, plant down and sometimes feathers.

References
1. Baicich PJ, Harrison CJO. Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds. Princeton Field Guides. Princeton UP. 1997.

2. Harrison HH. Bird's Nests. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston. 1975.

3. Sibley DA. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf New York. 2000.

4. Sibley DA. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behaviour. Alfred A. Knopf New York. 2001.