These little songbirds are hard to miss during the summer in Alabama’s forests. And even if you don’t see them, you’ll hear them.

Despite their distinctive black hood, male hooded warblers are primarily a yellowish green. Females are the same bright color, but without the hood.

Hooded warblers also have a loud, distinctive song, which along with their color makes them easier to spot in the woods. You may also see them flash their white tail feathers.

“I think they’re also really fun, especially for beginner birders who are just getting into it,” said Kira Williams, a graduate researcher at Alabama A&M University. “They’re pretty easy to see. And they’re really loud and always out there.”

The warblers begin to arrive in Alabama in late March and early April, a little earlier than their similar-looking cousins, the Kentucky warblers, according to the Audubon Society. They settle in Alabama’s forests for the summer to breed, hiding in the shrubbery and underbrush.

As they’re nesting, hooded warblers also have to look out for another bird. Brown-headed cowbirds will lay their eggs in hooded warblers’ nests, expecting the warblers to raise their young. This parasitic practice usually comes at the expense of at least one of the foster birds’ chicks or eggs, according to Cornell University.

Up to 75% of hooded warbler nests will have cowbird eggs in some areas, according to the Audubon Society.

Other threats to the hooded warbler include habitat loss and widespread urbanization, Williams said, which leads to declines in population. Many birds are also facing similar threats throughout the U.S.

Still, Williams said, hooded warblers are fairly common in Alabama. Williams studies migratory songbirds at Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve in Huntsville. Over the last two seasons, she said she’s captured 164 hooded warblers, one of the birds she sees most often.

Hooded warblers feed on insects, primarily caterpillars. Flashing their white tail feathers helps them catch insects, possibly by scaring the bugs into flying, according to Cornell.

The birds begin their fall migration as early as August, but they don’t fully leave Alabama until late October, according to the Audubon Society. In the winter, the birds settle in Central American countries including Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Hooded warblers have a very distinctive song: Williams says it sounds like they’re singing “I’m a hooded warbler.” Each male warbler (only the males are thought to sing) has a slightly different song, which nearby warblers can recognize. The unique song helps the birds mark their territory and spend less time fighting, according to Cornell.

Their second song sounds like “I know you are, but what am I,” Williams says.

“I know it sounds really goofy, but that’s really how I learned to ID this bird, by sound,” Williams said. “And I’d say it’s pretty true to the saying. And I just think they’re super fun, just by that. And especially since you always pretty much hear them. They are prolific singers.”