Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Yellow-Rumped Warbler Pictures, Yellow-Rumped Warbler Facts

Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Yellow-Rumped Warbler Pictures, Yellow-Rumped Warbler Facts These are probably the best known and most frequently encountered wood warblers. Although variable, all yellow-rumped warblers possess a bright yellow rump, which is shared with only 2 other species. The yellow-rumped’s unique ability to digest the waxes in bayberries allows it to winter farther north than other warblers. Built in June on the fork of a horizontal conifer branch near the trunk at low to moderate height, the yellow-rumped Warbler’s nest contains 3 to 6 eggs. Polytypic (6 ssp.). Length 5.3" (13 cm). Identification Spring male: crown and back blue-gray streaked with black. Yellow crown patch, distinct rump patch, and patches at sides of breast. White or yellow throat. Black streaks on upper breast and side. White wing bars. White spots in outer tail feathers. Spring female: similar to male, but brownish above with smaller tail spots. Fall adult: similar to spring adult, but generally browner above in both sexes with less black on breast. Immature: similar to spring female; some immature females very dull with indistinct streaking and much reduced yellow on sides of breast. Geographic Variation Six subspecies in 2 groups that were formerly considered full species: “Myrtle” and “Audubon’s.” The “Myrtle” warbler (nominate coronata over most of range and hooveri in Northwest) shows a white throat, black lores and ear coverts, a white line above lores and eye, 2 distinct white wing bars, a broken white eye ring, and large white spots on the outer 3 tail feathers. The “Audubon’s” Warbler (auduboni over most of range, similar memorabilis of the Rockies and Great Basin, nigrifrons of northwestern Mexico, and goldmani of Chiapas and Guatemala) shows a yellow throat, bluish gray sides of the head (inc. ear coverts), 2 broad white wing bars often forming a distinct patch, a broken white eye ring, and white spots on the outer 4 or 5 tail feathers. Some birds breeding in the southwestern mountains are intermediate between auduboni and darker-faced nigrifrons. Subspecific identification is more challenging in winter. Similar Species Compare to the Magnolia and Cape May Warblers, which have yellow rumps but also yellow underparts. The palm warbler shows yellow undertail coverts. Voice Call: the “Myrtle” gives a loud, husky, flat chek; the “Audubon’s” gives a loud and richer chep. Flight call: a high, clear sip. Song: a variable, loosely structured trill, sometimes with 2 parts—the first higher pitched and the second lower and trailing off at the end: chee chee chee chee wee wee wee we. Louder and richer on breeding grounds than in migration. The “Audubon’s” song is similar, but it is simpler and weaker. Status and Distribution Common breeder in coniferous woodlands; very common short- to medium-­distance migrant to central United States south to Caribbean and central Panama. Breeding: northern boreal and mixed forest, and montane coniferous woodland. Migration: in spring, generally arrives earlier than other warblers, returning to northern breeding areas by late April. In fall, generally migrates later than other warblers, peaking in northern portions of nonbreeding range in late September–mid-October. Winter: a wide variety of habitats from central United States south through Caribbean to western Panama. Vagrant: the “Audubon’s” Warbler is casual in eastern North America. The “Myrtle” Warbler is casual or accidental to Attu I. (Alaska), Baffin Island, Greenland, Iceland (7 recs.), Ireland, Great Britain (22 recs.), Madeira, the European mainland, and eastern Siberia (1 rec.). Population Breeding and wintering populations appear stable. —From the book Complete Birds of North America, 2006....................................MORE INFO FROM..Yellow-rumped warbler From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Yellow-rumped warbler Audubon's Warbler Setophaga auduboni.jpg Adult male "Audubon's" yellow-rumped warbler in alternate plumage, S. coronata, auduboni group Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Parulidae Genus: Setophaga Species: S. coronata Binomial name Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) Subspecies S. c. coronata – Myrtle warbler S. c. auduboni – Audubon's warbler S. c. nigrifrons – Black-fronted warbler S. c. goldmani – Goldman's warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler-rangemap.gif Summer only range Winter only range Year-round range Goldman's warbler range not included in map Synonyms Dendroica coronata Four closely related North American bird forms—the eastern myrtle warbler (ssp coronata), its western counterpart, Audubon's warbler (ssp group auduboni), the northwest Mexican black-fronted warbler (ssp nigrifrons), and the Guatemalan Goldman's warbler (ssp goldmani)—are periodically lumped as the yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata). In summer, adult females have streaked backs of black on blue-green and conspicuous yellow patches on the crown, flank, and rump. This individual is a myrtle warbler, as shown by the white throat. Contents [hide] 1 Classification 2 Distribution 3 Habitat 4 Description 5 Behavior 6 Gallery 7 References 8 External links Classification[edit] Since 1973, the American Ornithologists' Union has elected to merge these passerine birds as one species. The Myrtle form was apparently separated from the others by glaciation during the Pleistocene, and the Audubon's form may have originated more recently through hybridization between the myrtle warbler and the Mexican nigrifrons form.[2] Distribution[edit] Summer adult male yellow-rumped warblers have slate-blue backs and yellow crowns (barely visible here). As a male myrtle warbler, this individual has a black "mask". The yellow-rumped warbler breeds from eastern North America west to the Pacific, and southward from there into Western Mexico. "Goldman's" yellow-rumped warbler is endemic to the highlands of Guatemala. The Myrtle and Audubon's forms are migratory, traveling to the southern U.S., Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for winters. Among warblers it is by far the most widespread in North America in winter, and in the northern and central parts of the continent, it is among the last to leave in the fall and among the first to return. It is an occasional vagrant to the British Isles and Iceland. Habitat[edit] Yellow-rumped warblers spend the breeding season in mature coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous woodlands (such as in patches of aspen, birch, or willow). In the western U.S. and in the central Appalachian Mountains, they are found mostly in mountainous areas. In the Pacific Northwest and the Northeastern U.S., they occur all the way down to sea level wherever conifers are present. During winter, yellow-rumped warblers find open areas with fruiting shrubs or scattered trees, such as parks, streamside woodlands, open pine and pine-oak forest, dunes (where bayberries are common), and residential areas. On their tropical wintering grounds they live in mangroves, thorn scrub, pine-oak-fir forests, and shade coffee plantations.[3] Description[edit] This is a mid-sized New World warbler, though it is one of the largest species in the Setophaga genus (formerly Dendroica) which comprises a lion's share of the species in the family. In total length, the species can range from 12 to 15 cm (4.7 to 5.9 in) long, with a wingspan of 19 to 24 cm (7.5 to 9.4 in). Body mass can vary from 9.9 to 17.7 g (0.35 to 0.62 oz), though averages between 11 and 14 g (0.39 and 0.49 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 6.3 to 8.4 cm (2.5 to 3.3 in), the tail is 5 to 6.6 cm (2.0 to 2.6 in), the bill is 0.8 to 1.1 cm (0.31 to 0.43 in) and the tarsus is 1.8 to 2.2 cm (0.71 to 0.87 in).[4] In summers, males of both forms have streaked backs of black on slate blue, white wing patches, a streaked breast, and conspicuous yellow patches on the crown, flank, and rump. Audubon's warbler also sports a yellow throat patch, while the myrtle warbler has a white throat and eye stripe, and a contrasting black cheek patch. Females of both forms are more dull, with brown streaking front and back, but still have noticeable yellow rumps. Goldman's warbler, of Guatemala, resembles Audubon's but has a white lower border to the yellow throat and otherwise darker plumage; males replace the slate blue of Audubon's with black. Behavior[edit] These birds are one of North America's most abundant neotropical migrants. They are primarily insectivorous. The species is perhaps the most versatile foragers of all warblers. Beyond gleaning from leaves like other New World warblers, they often flit, flycatcher-like, out from their perches in short loops, to catch flying insects. Other places yellow-rumped warblers have been spotted foraging include picking at insects on washed-up seaweed at the beach, skimming insects from the surface of rivers and the ocean, picking them out of spiderwebs, and grabbing them off piles of manure. Common foods include caterpillars and other larvae, leaf beetles, bark beetles, weevils, ants, scale insects, aphids, grasshoppers, caddisflies, craneflies, and gnats, as well as spiders. They also eat spruce budworm, a serious forest pest, during outbreaks.[3] When bugs are scarce, the myrtle warbler also eats fruit, including the wax-myrtle berries which gave it its name. It is the only warbler able to digest such waxy material. The ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland. Other commonly eaten fruits include juniper berries, poison ivy, poison oak, greenbrier, grapes, Virginia creeper and dogwood. They eat wild seeds such as from beach grasses and goldenrod, and they may come to feeders, where they'll take sunflower seeds, raisins, peanut butter, and suet. On their wintering grounds in Mexico they've been seen sipping the sweet honeydew liquid excreted by aphids. Male yellow-rumped warblers tend to forage higher in the trees than females do. While foraging with other warbler species, they sometimes aggressively displace other species, including pine warblers and Blackburnian warblers.[3] They nest in coniferous and mixed woodlands, and lay 4–5 eggs. Females build the nest, sometimes using material the male carries to her. The nest is a cup of twigs, pine needles, grasses, and rootlets. She may also use moose, horse, and deer hair, moss, and lichens. She lines this cup with fine hair and feathers, sometimes woven into the nest in such a way that they curl up and over the eggs. The nest takes about 10 days to build. Nests are located on the horizontal branch of a conifer, anywhere from 1.2 to 15 m (3.9 to 49.2 ft) high. Tree species include hemlock, spruce, white cedar, pine, Douglas-fir, and larch or tamarack. They may build their nests far out on a main branch or tuck it close to the trunk in a secure fork of two or more branches. Occasionally nest are built in a deciduous tree such as a maple, oak or birch. The eggs are incubated for 12 to 13 days. Nestlings are helpless and naked at hatching but grow quickly. The young are brooded for 10 to 14 days, at which point they can fledge.[3] The yellow-rumped warbler has a trill-like song of 4–7 syllables (tyew-tyew-tyew-tyew,tew-tew-tew) and an occasional check or chip call note.