Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
eBird describes the Prothonotary Warbler like this: hockingly bright warbler of swamps and wet forest. Adult males have gorgeous yellow head and body with greenish back and blue-gray wings. Females and immature are slightly duller but still distinctive. Breeds in wet deciduous forests, primarily in the southeastern U.S. Winters to northern South America, where still has an affinity for wet forests, including mangroves. Typically stays in the understory, but males can perch up high when singing. Listen for loud, piercing series of 6-10 “tsweet” notes. One of only two warblers that nests in cavities. All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Prothonotary Warbler: The brilliant Prothonotary Warbler bounces along branches like a golden flashlight in the dim understory of swampy woodlands. This golden ray of light is unique among warblers with its beady black eye and blue-gray wings. It is also one of two warblers that build their nests in holes in standing dead trees. Often called a “swamp warbler” in the southeast, it also occurs surprisingly far to the north along rivers. Its population is declining, due to loss of forested wetlands in the U.S. and mangroves on its wintering grounds.
I was delighted to finally meet this bird on the afternoon of April 20, 2021, at Sabine Woods. The Prothonotary Warbler had been on my list for quite some time and I was glad to finally check it off!
“Cool Facts” About the Prothonotary Warbler From All About Birds:
- Most warblers nest either on the ground, in shrubs, or in trees, but the Prothonotary Warbler and the Lucy’s Warbler build their nests in holes in standing dead trees. They may also use nest boxes when available.
- The Prothonotary Warbler got its name from the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.
- The Prothonotary Warbler had its day in court during the Cold War. In 1948 Alger Hiss an American government official was accused of being a soviet spy. Part of the trial hinged on whether Hiss knew Whittaker Chambers, a former member of the U.S. Communist Party. Chambers claimed that he talked to Hiss about watching birds and reported Hiss’s excitement about seeing a Prothonotary Warbler on the Potomac River. This bird sighting linked the two people and eventually led to Hiss’s sentence and to the rise of Richard Nixon to political power.
- For Prothonotary Warblers it pays to be bright. Males that are brighter yellow gain access to better nest sites than less colorful males, according to a study conducted in Louisiana.
- The oldest recorded Prothonotary Warbler was a male, and at least 8 years, 1 month old when he was identified by his band in Ontario in 2005. He had been banded in the same area in 1999.