Audubon's Warbler

This passerine bird was long known to be closely related to its eastern counterpart, the myrtle warbler, and at various times the two forms have been classed as separate species or grouped as the yellow-rumped warbler, Setophaga coronata. The two forms probably diverged when the eastern and western populations were separated in the last ice age.

Audubon's warbler has a westerly distribution. It breeds in much of western Canada, the western United States, and into Mexico. It is migratory, wintering from the southern parts of the breeding range into western Central America.

The summer male Audubon's warbler has a slate blue back, and yellow crown, rump and flank patch. It has white tail patches, and the breast is streaked black. The female has a similar pattern, but the back is brown, as are the breast streaks.

The Audubon's warbler is most commonly found in coniferous forests, but can also be found in deciduous forests during the spring and summer. In the fall and winter, however, they migrate to more open, shrubby areas. This change in location coincides with their eating habits.[2]

This passerine bird was long known to be closely related to its counterparts Audubon's warbler and myrtle warbler, and at various times the three forms have been classed as either one, two or three species. At present, the American Ornithological Society and Clements considers the myrtle, Audubon's, and Goldman's warbler three subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata coronata and Setophaga coronata auduboni, and Setophaga coronata goldmani respectively) while the IOC World Bird List classifies the myrtle warbler, Audubon's, and Goldman's warbler as separate species (Setophaga coronata, Setophaga auduboni, and Setophaga goldmani).

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is one of the most widespread and well-known warblers in North America. Birders affectionately refer to this species as \"butter-butt,\" since its bright yellow rump is an eye-catching and diagnostic field mark throughout the year. Adults also have a yellow crown patch, most obvious in adult males. This bird's species name, coronata, means crowned.

North American populations of the Yellow-rumped Warbler are short- to medium-distance migrants, only moving as far south as the central United States, south to the Caribbean and sparingly to central Panama. In fall, the Yellow-rumped usually migrates later than other warblers, appearing on wintering grounds around the same time as other winter residents such as the White-throated Sparrow, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Brown Creeper.

When insect food is scarce, the Yellow-rumped Warbler switches to fruit, including wax myrtle berries, which gave the bird one of its former names. Its ability to digest the waxy coating of berries allows the Yellow-rumped Warbler to winter farther north than other warbler species. They sometimes visit backyard feeders for seed, suet, and fruit.

Distribution: The Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) is a sub-species or race of the Yellow-rumped Warbler. There was a time when theYellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) and the Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) were considered to be two different bird species. This is a hardywarbler and less likely to migrate over long distances, as other warblers do. It is seen annually, from the northwestern areas of BritishColumbia, southward to the southern tip of California and on to the California Baja. All along the border states to eastern Texas, north throughthe central US states and into the western boundaries of Manitoba and through Saskatchewan.

Warblers can be hard to spot. But unlike many warblers that ply the tops of the trees, the Yellow-rumped Warbler is happy filtering through the lower branches of trees, providing flightless mortals with half a chance of seeing it. The Yellow-rumped Warbler is one of the most common warblers across the United States.

Yellow-rumps use a variety of ways to get their food. They are known to fly out from a branch to catch insects. They can forage on the ground for insects or berries or hang onto a tree trunk or branch. They eat berries from juniper, wax myrtle, Virginia creeper, dogwood, and poison ivy plants. And it is an interesting adaptation that they can digest the wax on juniper and wax myrtle berries. This adaptation enables them to remain further north than other warblers.

Myrtle warbles (Setophaga coronata coronate), are the eastern subspecies of the yellow-rumped warbler and they have white throats. These are the yellow-rumped warblers you are likely to see in this area.

There is a great presentation about warblers, including the yellow-rump, by Bill Young on the Audubon Society for Northern Virginia website: -programs. He includes fabulous pictures of warblers, most of which he took at Monticello Park.

Bird guides once listed the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler as distinct species that lived side by side in parts of their ranges. However, recent books show them as eastern and western forms of a single species, the yellow-rumped warbler. Apparently, the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler _____.

Profile by Gislaine Peters: The Yellow-rumped Warbler is fairly large for a warbler and is about the size of a Black-capped Chickadee. They have a large head, sturdy bill and a long, narrow tail. In the summer, both male and females are gray with some white in the wings and yellow on the face, sides, and rump. The males are shaded while the females are more dull and may even have some brown. Currently, during the winter, both sexes are a paler brown with a bright yellow rump and some yellow on the sides.

Like other warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers are small, colorful, insect-eating songbirds that whistle sweet songs. But unlike other warblers, these gray and yellow birds with the black eye mask do show up in backyards.

Another unique trait of Yellow-rumped Warblers is that they will visit backyard bird feeders. Lyric Fruit and Nut Mix features fresh sunflower seeds, raisins and peanuts of the highest quality, which will bring these warblers in for a landing.

The Yellow-rumped Warbler is a common species within the warbler family and is a neotropical migrant. They are considered to be one of the larger warblers, but are still a relatively small bird with a length of around 5.5 inches.

During migration and breeding, they mainly eat insects, but can also eat different fruits and berries. They have the unique ability to digest bayberries and wax myrtle which allows them to winter further north in the US than other warbler species.

This analysis, coupled with an observation of the characteristics of the hybrid warblers in western Canada, allowed Toews and the research team to conclude separate species status for three of the four forms.

AppearanceYellow-rumped Warblers are relatively large warblers (5.5 in.), distinguished by conspicuous yellow patches on the rump, throat, crown, and sides of breast. The upperparts are gray, and the underparts are white. The breast and flanks are solid black, and the tail shows white spots in flight. Their bill is very thin.

BehaviorYellow-rumps display a wider range of foraging strategies for hunting insects than most other warblers. They may be seen sallying from treetops after flying insects (mosquitoes, gnats, flying ants), or searching for scale insects on tree trunks. They also like to glean berries from shrubs like poison oak during the winter months when insects are scarce. This winter diet of berries enables Yellow-rumps to winter as far north as Seattle.

SoundsOnly the male sings, and they have at least 2 song types which are heard in the early morning hours during the breeding season. In general, their songs often lack distinctive patterns, and can best be described as erratic and flat shivering trills with a thin, bell-like quality, usually rising at the end. Some individuals sing songs with stronger patterns, sometimes closely resembling those of other warblers. 59ce067264

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