June 30, 2026

Though called Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum) their diet doesn’t include what we would refer to as “worms”, but does include spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, and slugs.

Breeding season finds them in deciduous forests in the eastern United States. Their nest is built on the ground, looking like an open cup, among dead leaves. There are several other species of new-world warblers that also build their nests on the ground, including Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia), Ovenbirds (Serious aurocapilla), Northern Waterthrushes (Parkesia noveboracensis), Louisiana Waterthrushes (Parkesia motacilla), Palm Warblers (Setophaga palmarum), and Kentucky Warblers (Geothlypis formosa).

Surprising to see that there are so many similar little birds that build nests on the ground.

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