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23AU9115W-SharpenAI-Softness-denoise-standardYellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warblers are fairly large, full-bodied warblers with a large head, sturdy bill, and long, narrow tail.

 

RELATIVE SIZE

Large warbler; about the size of a Black-capped Chickadee

 

Relative Sizesparrow or smaller

sparrow-sized or smaller

MEASUREMENTS

Both Sexes

Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)

Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (12-13 g)

Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Ryan Schain | Macaulay Library

Color Pattern

In summer, both sexes are a smart gray with flashes of white in the wings and yellow on the face, sides, and rump. Males are very strikingly shaded; females are duller and may show some brown. Winter birds are paler brown, with bright yellow rump and usually some yellow on the sides.

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© Emily Turteltaub Nelson | Macaulay Library

Behavior

Yellow-rumped Warblers typically forage in the outer tree canopies at middle heights. They're active, and you'll often see them sally out to catch insects in midair, sometimes on long flights. In winter they spend lots of time eating berries from shrubs, and they often travel in large flocks.

 

 

© Benjamin Clock | Macaulay Library

Habitat

In summer, Yellow-rumped Warblers are birds of open coniferous forests and edges, and to a lesser extent deciduous forests. In fall and winter they move to open woods and shrubby habitats, including coastal vegetation, parks, and residential areas.

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler

© J Millsaps | Macaulay Library

Regional Differences

The Yellow-rumped Warbler has two distinct subspecies that used to be considered separate species: the "Myrtle" Warbler of the eastern U.S. and Canada's boreal forest, and "Audubon’s" Warbler of the mountainous West. The Audubon’s has a yellow throat; in the Myrtle subspecies the throat is white. Male "Audubon's" Warblers have more white in the wing than the "Myrtle" Warbler. Female Audubon's have less distinctly marked faces, lacking the dark ear patches of the "Myrtle" Warbler. Intermediate forms occur where the two subspecies' breeding ranges overlap, such as in the Canadian Rockies.

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Uploaded on August 29, 2023
Taken on August 18, 2023