Tennessee warbler

noun

1. a North American wood warbler, Vermivora peregrina, having a gray head, a greenish back, and white underparts.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tennessee warbler¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

Example Sentences

On Tuesday morning he had been excited to see a Tennessee warbler, a difficult-to-spot bird with “a really distinctive, urgent cry” that he said sounds in part like “a machine gun.”

From New York Times

The result: the powdery olive shoulders of a Tennessee warbler or the neon-lime belly of a budgerigar.

From New York Times

The Ipswich sparrow was the third such bird that I had seen during the year without going out of New England, the other two being the Tennessee warbler and the Philadelphia vireo.

From Project Gutenberg

Like a Tennessee warbler, the electric guitar flutters downward in graceful slides and turns.

From Time Magazine Archive

Of more interest than any flycatcher—of more interest even than the Tennessee warbler—was a bird found by the roadside in the village, after we had been for several days in the place.

From Project Gutenberg