Yellow Warbler
Setophaga petechia
Summary 5
The yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia, formerly Dendroica petechia) is a New World warbler species. Sensu lato, they make up the most widespread species in the diverse Setophaga genus, breeding in almost the whole of North America and down to northern South America.
Status and conservation 6
Yellow warblers, in particular the young, devour many pestinsects during the breeding season. The plumage and song of the breeding males have been described as "lovely" and "musical", encouraging ecotourism. No significant negative effects of American yellow and mangrove warblers on humans have been recorded.
Being generally common and occurring over a wide range, the yellow warbler is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. Some local decline in numbers has been found in areas, mainly due to habitat destruction and pollution. The chief causes are land clearance, the agricultural overuse of and herbicide and pesticide, and sometimes overgrazing. However, stocks will usually rebound quickly if riparian habitat is allowed to recover, particularly among the prolific American yellow warbler.
The North American populations are legally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Barbados golden warbler (D. p. petechia) has been listed as "endangered foreign wildlife" by the United States' Endangered Species Act (ESA) since 1970; other than for specially permitted scientific, educational or conservation purposes, importing it into the USA is illegal. The Californian yellow warbler (D. p./a. brewsteri) and Sonoran yellow warbler (D.p./a. sonorana) are listed as "species of concern" by the ESA.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Kelly Colgan Azar, some rights reserved (CC BY-ND), https://www.flickr.com/photos/puttefin/6796564072/
- (c) Erika Mitchell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Erika Mitchell
- (c) Juan Carlos Pérez Magaña, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Juan Carlos Pérez Magaña
- (c) Javi Gonzalez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Javi Gonzalez
- Adapted by Desmon M Dunn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Setophaga_petechia
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_yellow_warbler
