Yellow-throated Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler
Adult male (above) and female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Parulidae
Genus:	Dendroica
Species:	D. dominica
Binomial name
Dendroica dominica (Linnaeus, 1766)

The Yellow-throated Warbler, Dendroica dominica, is a small migratory songbird species breeding in temperate North America. It belongs to the New World warbler family (Parulidae).^[1]

Description

Upperside coloration

In summer, male Yellow-throated Warblers display grey upperparts and wings, with double white wing bars. Their throats are yellow, and the remainder of their underparts are white, and are streaked with black on the flanks. Their heads are strongly patterned in black and white, with a long supercilium; the different subspecies may display yellow and white superciliums. Remiges and rectrices are black.^[1]

Other plumages of these birds – females immatures and non-breeding males – resemble washed-out versions of the summer males; in particular they have a less crisply defined strong head pattern. They also have less bright yellows, and dark grey feathers instead of black ones in the body plumage. Compared to many other New World warblers, sexual dimorphism is slight however.^[1]

The males' songs are clear, descending whistles. The calls are high sees or sharp chips.^[1]

Ecology

Wintering on Cuba

These birds breed in southeastern North America, and their breeding ranges extend from southern Pennsylvania and northern Missouri, to the Gulf of Mexico. One subspecies, from northwest Florida, is resident all year round. The other populations of this species are migratory, wintering at the Gulf Coast, eastern Central America, and the Caribbean. Vagrant wintering birds are sometimes seen in northernmost South America.^[2]

The Yellow-throated Warbler is a woodland species with a preference for coniferous or swamp tree species, in which it preferably nests. They are insectivorous, but will include a considerable amount of berries and nectar in their diet outside the breeding season. Food is typically picked off tree branches directly, but flying insects may be caught in a brief hover.^[3]

These birds build cup-shaped nests which are built in a trees, and are concealed amongst conifer needles or Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides). Their clutches consist of 3-5 (usually 4) eggs.^[1]

The Yellow-throated Warbler is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.^[4]

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Curson et al. (1994)
2. ^ Curson et al. (1994), Strewe & Navarro (2004)
3. ^ Olson et al. (1981), Curson et al. (1994)
4. ^ BLI (2008)

References

• BirdLife International (BLI) (2008). Dendroica dominica. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 6 November 2009.
• Curson, Jon; Quinn, David & Beadle David (1994): New World Warblers. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
• Olson, Storrs L.; James, Helen F. & Meister, Charles A. (1981): Winter field notes and specimen weights of Cayman Island Birds. Bull. B.O.C. 101(3): 339-346. PDF fulltext
• Strewe, Ralf & Navarro, Cristobal (2004): New and noteworthy records of birds from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, north-eastern Colombia. Bull. B.O.C. 124(1): 38-51. PDF fulltext

External links

• Yellow-throated Warbler Bird Sound