Yellow-rumped Warbler

Setophaga coronata

Summary 3

The yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) is a North American bird species combining four closely related 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).

Setophaga coronata 4

A medium-sized (5-6 inches) wood warbler, the Yellow-rumped Warbler occurs in two geographically-linked color groups. Summer males from the eastern (Myrtle) group are streaked gray above and white below with a black face mask, black breast, white chin, and conspicuous yellow patches on the head, wings, and rump. Summer males from the western (Audubon’s) group have more extensive black on the breast and a yellow throat, but are otherwise similar to eastern males. Females of both groups are duller and browner than the males, and all birds become dull brown above and pale below (while retaining the conspicuous yellow patches) during the winter. This species may be distinguished from the similarly-patterned Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia) by that species’ heavily streaked breast and broader tail. The eastern form of the Yellow-rumped Warbler breeds across Alaska, Canada, and at higher elevations in the northeastern United States; wintering in the southeastern U.S., the Mid-Atlantic region, the Pacific coast from Washington to California, and the West Indies. The western form breeds in the Pacific Northwest, the mountains of northern California, and in the interior west; wintering in the southern California and the southwest. Both forms winter from the U.S. border south to Central America; the western form also breeds locally in the mountains of Mexico and Guatemala. Yellow-rumped Warblers primarily breed in northern and high-mountain evergreen forest habitats. In winter, this species may be found in open forest, thickets, and scrub as well as locally in urban and suburban areas. Yellow-rumped Warblers primarily eat small insects and spiders, but, more so than most other wood warblers, this species also eats fruits and berries during the winter. In appropriate habitat, Yellow-rumped Warblers may be observed foraging for invertebrates and berries in the tree canopy or in the undergrowth. Birdwatchers may also listen for this species’ song, a series of high-pitched warbling notes petering out at the end. Yellow-rumped Warblers are primarily active during the day, but, like many migratory songbirds, this species migrates at night.

Habitat 5

A highly adaptable bird, the Yellow-rumped Warbler can be found in a variety of habitats including coniferous forest, mixed woodlands, deciduous forest, pine plantation, bogs, forest edges, and openings. In the winter it is often found in brushy thickets of bayberry and wax myrtle (Stokes and Stokes 1996; Granlund 1999).

Terrestrial Biomes: taiga ; forest

Conservation status 6

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is abundant throughout its range and is probably the most abundant of all warbler species. The Breeding Bird Survey and the Christmas Bird Count in the last 25 years have shown that populations of the Yellow-rumped Warbler are rising at around 2% (or less) per year (Stokes and Stokes 1996).

US Migratory Bird Act: protected

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

State of Michigan List: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Iucn red list assessment 7


Red List Category
LC
Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2012

Assessor/s
BirdLife International

Reviewer/s
Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s

Justification
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be increasing, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is extremely large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Least Concern (LC)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)
  • Lower Risk/least concern (LR/lc)

Sources and Credits

  1. Wikimedia Commons, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Dendroica_coronata4.jpg/460px-Dendroica_coronata4.jpg
  2. (c) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Dendroica-coronata-001.jpg/460px-Dendroica-coronata-001.jpg
  3. Adapted by Amanda Carrillo-Perez from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setophaga_coronata
  4. (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818108
  5. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/25064490
  6. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31390366
  7. (c) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34419962

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