common yellowthroat
- Also called:
- Maryland yellowthroat or yellow bandit
- Related Topics:
- yellowthroat
How large is the common yellowthroat’s geographic range?
What are the main predators of common yellowthroats?
What is the conservation status of the common yellowthroat?
common yellowthroat, (Geothlypis trichas), species of North American warblers easily recognized by the distinctive black “mask” worn by males that contrasts with a bright yellow throat. The geographic range of the common yellowthroat is one of the largest of any North American warbler. The species nests in a variety of habitats, including marshes, wetlands, grasslands, forests, savannas, and thickets from southern Alaska east to Labrador and Newfoundland and south to Mexico. Many birds overwinter in the southern United States, Mexico, and the West Indies. During the course of their nocturnal spring and fall migrations, common yellowthroats are known for crashing into windows and communications towers. These birds were first described by European naturalists, who encountered them in Maryland and named them Maryland yellowthroats.
Common yellowthroats are divided into 13 subspecies. The subspecies Geothlypis trichas has the largest range; it spans much of the central and eastern U.S. and southern Canada and winters on several islands in the Caribbean Sea. In contrast, the subspecies with the second largest range, G. trichas campicola, which is found from southern Alaska southeast to Canada’s Prairie Provinces and the northern Great Plains, spends its winters in Mexico.
Natural history
Common yellowthroats are small birds, measuring 11–14 cm (4.3–5.5 inches) long and weighing just 8.5 grams (about 0.3 ounces). The male bird has a striking appearance. Its dorsal and wing feathers are olive colored, which contrasts with its black mask and the bright yellow feathers on the throat, the breast, and the underside of the tail. In contrast to the male’s bold look, the female has a more subdued appearance, with an unmarked face and browner features, along with a yellow throat. Members of both sexes have a sharp beak and a medium-length tail. Juveniles are typically brown colored, and the masks of juvenile males lack the black feathers found in adult males, so their masks appear duller and far less pronounced.
These birds are predominantly insectivorous—and they often hunt by plucking smaller flying insects from the air. They also consume caterpillars, beetles, grubs, and even spiders—but they also eat seeds and fruit during the winter. Males perch in low vegetation (such as on cattails or sedges) or near the crown of a tree or shrub; they are also found in the open. Males are territorial birds, and they sing a “witchity-witchity-witchity” call along with a note that sounds like “chek” or “chuck.” Because they nest close to the ground, the birds are vulnerable to predation by snakes, raccoons, and opossums. In the air, they are sometimes taken by shrikes, kestrels, and merlins. Their nests are frequently parasitized by brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), which lay their eggs in yellowthroat nests to trick the common yellowthroat into raising the cowbird chicks as its own.
The species is a polygynous (i.e., one male mates with several females during a breeding season). During courtship, which occurs in the spring, the male will fly 8–30 meters in the air (25–100 feet), calling and singing to attract a female. The male will then initiate wing flicks and display its tail feathers to entice a female into mating. The female constructs a nest of grasses, leaves, tree bark, and other small materials in a thicket or a shrub and deposits 3–5 creamy white eggs with brown and black spots, which she incubates alone. About 12 days after egg laying, young will hatch. Young are provisioned by both parents for the next 8–10 days, at which time they fledge and go off on their own. Pairs will often have two broods per year, before the birds migrate to their winter habitats in the fall. Both sexes reach sexual maturity at age 1, and they can live up to 10 years in the wild.
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Parulidae
- Genus: Geothlypis
Species of Least Concern
Conservation status
Common yellowthroats are classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), owing to the bird’s extensive geographic range, adaptability to a wide variety of habitats, and its large population of approximately 77 million adults. Trends suggest, however, that this population has declined by roughly 4 percent during the 2010s, though such a drop in overall numbers is not concerning enough to cause the bird to be reclassified as a threatened species.