Original artwork description:

A portrait of fading species: Setophaga discolor

Not a bird of open prairies, this warbler nests mainly in young second growth scrub and densely overgrown fields in eastern North America. Such habitats are often temporary, and colonies may shift around from year to year. The thin buzzy song of the male seems suited to the glare of hot summer days. Surveys show declining numbers in recent decades. Over much of range, requires brushy areas growing up after clearing or fires, and disappears as forests mature. Also hurt by cowbird parasitism.
What can you do to help? harvesting mature trees and conducting controlled burns can boost low-growing shrubs, such as scrub oak, helping prairie warbler populations rebound. Mowing older shrubs so that they grow back more densely can also help these warblers.

Materials used:

oil on canvas

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