Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Orange-crowned Warbler (Oreothlypis celata)

Orange-crowned Warbler [ventral view of adult]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 20 October 2019.

Abundance: Uncommon during late fall; Rare during winter; and Very Uncommon during early spring; recorded in 15 Regional counties, 6 in Kentucky and 9 in Tennessee (Map of UCR Distribution); data about the quite small Regional winter population and the migratory population are too few to determine trends (see also Regional Bird Monitoring Plan).

Status: Winter Resident for a quite small portion of the population; Transient for the remaining majority of the population; photograph (Judy C. Fuson; DeKalb County, Tennessee; 13 February 2006).

Regional High Count: 3 (29 October 2000; near Bandy Creek Visitor Center, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Scott County, Tennessee; Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman and Stedman 2002); SBC/SBB High Count: 2 (22/23 April 1961; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.; Note: a 2-day count; and 23 April 1977; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 1 (16 September 2000; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; Barbara H. Stedman; and 3 October 2009; White County, Tennessee [FBC]; Douglas A. Downs, Nancy S. Layzer).

Out-of-Season (Winter) Records:

20 December 1997 (1) Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Barbara H. Stedman, Lynda M. Mills), a CBC record.

8 February 2004 (1) Jericho Rd., White County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Winston A. Walden).

13 February 2006 (1) DeKalb County, Tennessee (Judy C. Fuson photo [see Status above]).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Fall: x (

    Late Spring: x (

Note: Fall arrival generally widespread by 20 October, remaining widespread only about 2 weeks; data regarding spring departure are few but suggest that it is generally complete by 20 April; Regional dates of earliest reported fall arrival and latest reported spring departure during winters from 2002–2003 to 2011–2012 follow:

* But see also Out-of-Season (Winter) Records (above).

Habitat: x

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Remarks: Most reliably encountered during late October and early November in scrubby situations.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited