Yellow Warbler

Dendroica petechia

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PARULIDAE

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

Although many warblers are yellow, the Yellow Warbler is the most extensively yellow of any species. This widespread species of willows and mangroves is the only warbler with yellow tail spots.

Cool Facts

• In addition to the migratory form of the Yellow Warbler that breeds in North America, several other resident forms can be found in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Males in these populations can have chestnut caps or even chestnut covering the entire head.

• The nests of the Yellow Warbler are frequently parasitized by the Brown-headed Cowbird. The warbler often builds a new nest directly on top of the parasitized one, sometimes resulting in nests with up to six tiers.

• Recent DNA-based studies indicate that the Chestnut-sided Warbler is the closest relative of the Yellow Warbler. Both sing similarly phrased songs, and Yellow Warblers regularly sing songs nearly identical to those of the Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Description

• Size: 12-13 cm (5-5 in)
• Wingspan: 16-20 cm (6-8 in)
• Weight: 9-11 g (0.32-0.39 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Thin pointed bill.
• Yellow overall.
• Chestnut streaks on chest of male.

• Indistinct yellow wingbars.
• Yellow spots in tail.
• Black eye surrounded by indistinct yellow eyering.

Sex Differences

Male bright yellow with reddish streaks on chest, female duller with red streaks absent or reduced.

Male

Face, throat, and underparts bright yellow. Streaked with chestnut below throat. Upperparts yellow-green to olive. Wings edged in yellow. Yellow tail spots.

Female

Underparts bright yellow. Back and most of face greenish-yellow. Indistinct yellow eyering. Narrow and indistinct chestnut streaks on breast, sides, and flanks. Yellow tail spots.

Immature

Immatures similar to adult female, but paler and duller, usually without chestnut chest streaks. Yellow tail spots reduced.

Similar Species

• Palm Warbler is only other warbler with red streaks on chest, and it has a rusty cap and a dark eyestripe.
• Orange-crowned Warbler has dark eyeline and pale eye crescents, no yellow on edge of wing feathers, and no tail spots.
• Female and immature Yellow Warblers easily confused with female and immature Hooded and Wilson's warblers; all have plain yellow face and entirely yellow underparts. Neither has yellow edging to wing feathers or yellow tail spots.
• Yellow Warbler may sing songs that are nearly identical to those of Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Sound

Variable. Most common song is a rapid musical "sweet-sweet-sweet-I'm-so-sweet."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from northern Alaska and Canada southward to middle United States, and in West into Mexico. Also breeds from southern Florida, throughout the Caribbean and Central American coasts, to northern South America.

Winter Range

Winters in Mexico, Central and South America.

Habitat

• Breeds in wet, deciduous thickets, especially in willows.
• Also in shrubby areas and old fields.
• In southern Florida and farther south, found in mangroves.

Food

Insects and other arthropods, occasionally fruit.

Behavior

Foraging

Captures insects by gleaning, flycatching, and hovering.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a deep cup of grasses and bark, covered on the outside with plant down and fine fibers, lined with fur or fine plant fibers. Placed in upright fork of shrub or tree.

Egg Description

Color: Grayish or greenish white with dark spots and blotches around large end.

Size: 15.5-20.5 mm x 12.3-16.0 mm
(0.6-0.8 in x 0.5-0.6 in)

Incubation period: 10-13 days.

Clutch Size

Usually 4-5 eggs. Range: 1-7.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sparse down.
Chicks fledge in 9-12 days.

Conservation Status

Widespread and abundant; no clear continentwide trend in populations. Vulnerable in western areas where riparian habitats are affected by intense grazing and development.

Other Names

Fauvette jaune, Paruline jaune (French)
Chipe amarillo, Verdín amarillo (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Lowther, P. E., C. Celada, N. K. Klein, C. C. Rimner, and D. A. Spector. 1999. Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia). In The Birds of North America, No. 454 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.