Bird of the Week: Yellow-Throated Warbler
Ten Facts About Yellow-Throated Warbler
1.Yellow-Throated Warbler are migratory – they primarily breed in the southeastern United States and winter in the Caribbean or around the Gulf of Mexico (some are year-round residents in South Florida).
2. Yellow-Throated Warbler are considered a beacon of spring since they begin claiming territory (by song) at the start of spring, sometimes as early as March.
3. Yellow-Throated Warblers forage for insects by hopping and creeping along branches and tree trunks.
4. The Yellow-Throated Warbler’s bill is longer and pointier than average for a warbler, which gives it an advantage while foraging.
Yellow-Throated Warbler Beak
5. Female and immature Yellow-Throated Warbler are duller in color than a breeding male.
6. Yellow-Throated Warbler are frequently found in Cypress swamps, Coastal swamps, Live Oak/Spanish Moss forests, Pine forests, Sycamore forests and Palm trees.
Yellow-Throated Warbler in Mangrove Swamp
7. Yellow-Throated Warbler nests are difficult to find because they tend to be located very high in the forest canopy.
8. Yellow-Throated Warbler are known to occasionally take suet from bird feeders, this most often occurs in the winter time.
9. The Yellow-Throated Warbler is also known as the “Yellow-Throated Creeper” and the “Sycamore Warbler.”
10. At one point the Bahama Warbler (Dendroica flavescens) was considered a subspecies of the Yellow-Throated Warbler. Bahama Warbler are native to the Bahamas and have longer, more curved beaks.
