YELLOW WARBLER GALLERY
(Setogphaga petechia)
The Yellow Warbler is typically yellow overall, but some immatures can be almost completely gray. Some have reddish-brown streaks below. Always looks uniform and plain-faced. Forages for insects in wooded and shrubby areas, often fairly low to the ground. Favors riparian habitats, edges of ponds, marshes, and woods, particularly where willows are present. Winters in Central America.
On the morning of May 8, 2020 I was at Scout Pond in Warbler Woods Sanctuary and saw my first yellow warbler. The one I saw was at the edge of the pond and I watched as it took a bath. It had prominent reddish-brown streaks on its breast. Hope you enjoy my photos from that day!
Yellow Warbler “Cool Facts” From All About Birds…
- 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.
- Life can be dangerous for a small bird. Yellow Warblers have occasionally been found caught in the strands of an orb weaver spider’s web.
- The oldest-known Yellow Warbler was a female, and was at least 11 years old when she was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in New York.