Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler, adult; Roma, TX

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Orange-crowned Warbler, juvenile; Long Island, NY; August

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A small, rather drab warbler of shrubs and low vegetation, the Orange-crowned Warbler is common and widespread in the West, but is much less common in most of the East. It can be one of the most numerous migrant warblers in the western and central United States, but its numbers decrease to the east.

Description

• Small songbird; medium-sized warbler.
• Dusky olive-green overall.
• Faintly streaked chest.
• Yellow under tail.

• Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
• Wingspan: 19 cm (7 in)
• Weight: 7-11 g (0.25-0.39 ounces)

Sex Differences

Sexes similar, but female tends to be duller, with crown patch absent or less distinct.

Sound

Song a fast trill, changing in pitch at end. Call a sharp "chip."

Conservation Status

Abundant over much of range. May be experiencing a gradual long-term decline.

Other Names

Paruline verdâtre (French)
Gusanero cabecigrís, Gusanero de corona anaranjada (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The Orange-crowned Warbler is divided into four subspecies that differ in plumage color, size, and molt patterns. The one named celata is found in Alaska and across Canada, and it is the dullest and grayest. The Pacific Coast form, lutescens, is the brightest yellow. Found throughout the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin, orestera is intermediate in appearance. The form sordida is the darkest green and is found only on the Channel Islands and locally along the coast of southern California and northern Baja California.
• The boreal-nesting form of the Orange-crowned Warbler has one of the latest fall migrations of any warbler, not leaving its Canadian breeding grounds until late September or October.

• It is likely that most, if not all of the early fall (August and early September) reports of Orange-crowned Warblers from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada are actually dull Tennessee Warblers.

Sources used to construct this page:

Sogge, M. K., W. M. Gilbert, and C. v. Riper III. 1994. Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata). In The Birds of North America, No. 101 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists? Union.