What song bird has a yellow rump?

The song bird that is best known for having a yellow rump is the American Yellow Warbler. This small, insect-eating bird breeds throughout North America and migrates to Central and South America for the winter. The male’s most distinctive feature is its bright yellow rump patch, which really stands out when the bird is flying. This makes the American Yellow Warbler easy to identify by sight. Let’s take a closer look at this songbird and its distinguishing yellow rump.

Identifying the American Yellow Warbler

The American Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) is a small songbird that measures 4.7-5.1 inches in length and weighs 0.3-0.4 ounces. Males and females have similar plumage. They have olive-green upperparts, yellow underparts, two white wing bars, and yellow tails and rumps. The males have brighter yellow plumage overall, especially on the breast. Females are more olive on the back and wings. The yellow rump patch on the male American Yellow Warbler is the most brilliant yellow of any North American warbler species. This makes it an easy way to identify the bird.

Range and Habitat

The American Yellow Warbler breeds throughout much of North America. Its breeding range extends from Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, and south throughout the continental United States. It winters in Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. This warbler inhabits open areas with shrubs and small trees, such as riparian woodlands, orchards, parks, and suburban yards. It tends to forage and nest in the lower and middle levels of vegetation.

Diet and Feeding Behavior

Like most warblers, the American Yellow Warbler is primarily insectivorous. Its diet consists mostly of insects and spiders. Caterpillars make up a large proportion of its food. It also eats beetles, ants, wasps, and aphids. To forage for insects, the yellow warbler hawks flying insects from a perch or gleans prey from leaves and branches. It is an active and agile hunter, moving rapidly through vegetation. The male yellow warbler establishes a breeding territory then attracts a female with displays of its bright plumage.

Nesting and Reproduction

The American Yellow Warbler builds an open, cup-shaped nest in the fork of a bush or sapling. The female selects the nest site and does most of the construction work. She weaves together plant fibers, strips of bark, down, and feathers to form the nest. It is lined with soft materials like fine grasses.

The female lays 3-6 eggs which are creamy white with brown speckles. She incubates the eggs for 11-12 days. Both parents feed the hatchlings, which fledge the nest at 9-12 days old. Yellow warblers commonly have 2 broods per season.

Migration

American Yellow Warblers migrate long distances of up to 8,000 miles between their breeding and wintering grounds. They migrate at night in loose flocks. Their winter range covers Central America, the Caribbean, northern South America, and the Galapagos Islands. Yellow warblers from western parts of North America cross the Gulf of Mexico to reach their wintering grounds. Eastern populations follow coastal routes south along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Conservation Status

The American Yellow Warbler has a large population estimated between 52-72 million birds. Its numbers increased during the 20th century as human activities created new open and successional habitats the warbler favors. However, populations have declined by about 1.3% per year in recent decades according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Habitat loss on the wintering grounds may contribute to these declines. The yellow warbler is considered a species of Least Concern by the IUCN Red List.

Fun Facts about the Yellow Warbler

Here are some interesting facts about the cheery American Yellow Warbler:

• The generic name Setophaga means “moth eater” – an apt name for this insect-loving bird.
• Yellow warblers breed the furthest north of any American warbler, nesting all the way up to the tree line in Alaska and Canada.
• They sometimes parasitize the nests of other warblers, laying their own eggs in an unsuspecting host’s nest.
• Their song is a pleasant series of sweet musical notes – “sweet-sweet-I’m-so-sweet.”
• Yellow warblers from different geographic areas have distinct regional dialects in their songs.
• They are very territorial despite their small size, aggressively chasing away intruders and even hawks and crows.
• In captivity, the longest-lived yellow warbler was almost 11 years old.
• A yellow warbler named Percy was the first bird ever to be fitted with a numbered aluminum leg band used to track migratory songbirds.

Appearance in Literature and Culture

The bright yellow plumage of the male American Yellow Warbler has attracted the attention of poets and writers. Here are some examples of how this songbird has been featured in literature and culture:

Poetry

The poem “The Yellow Warbler” by Joel Barlow reads:

PILGRIM, the yellow warbler flits
Around the orchard-plot he loves,
Soft as dead leaves or thistle fits
His light wings rustle in the groves.
A golden vest around his breast,
As sunshine on a yellow morn,

His small mouth warbles clear and sweet,
As if he sang to children born.

This poem highlights the yellow warbler’s vibrant plumage and sweet song.

Literature

In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “Through This,” the narrator describes “A bit of yellow warbler, feathers bright.” This alludes to how the male’s bright color stands out.

Aldo Leopold also references the yellow warbler in his nature writing. In A Sand County Almanac he writes: “The yellow warbler sang in the willows…”

Popular Culture

The yellow warbler is the mascot of William & Mary College’s athletic teams. Their mascot is the Tribe Yellow Warbler.

The male yellow warbler also appears in the artwork of John James Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson’s famous birding field guides.

Scientific Classification

The American Yellow Warbler has the following scientific classification:

Like other New World warblers, the yellow warbler is in the order Passeriformes. This large order contains over half of all bird species, including other songbirds like finches, sparrows, blackbirds, and wrens.

Comparison to Similar Species

The American Yellow Warbler’s bright yellow rump makes it one of the more easily identified North American warblers. However, there are some other species with yellow plumage that could potentially be confused with the yellow warbler. Here is how to distinguish them:

Prothonotary Warbler

The Prothonotary Warbler is also yellow, but it has an overall golden head and underparts. It lacks wingbars and has darker olive upperparts compared to the yellow warbler.

Wilson’s Warbler

The male Wilson’s Warbler has a black cap contrasting with a yellow face. Its back is olive green and its underparts are yellow. But it lacks the bold yellow rump of the American Yellow Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

True to its name, the Yellow-rumped Warbler also has yellow patches on its rump along with other areas of yellow plumage. But its facial pattern differs from the American Yellow Warbler. It has a white throat, white belly, and white wingbars along with streaking on the breast.

Yellow-breasted Chat

The Yellow-breasted Chat is much larger than the American Yellow Warbler. It has a yellow belly but lacks the warbler’s distinctive yellow rump patch.

So in summary, the American Yellow Warbler is the only common North American warbler species with bright yellow plumage concentrated on the head, chest, and rump. Once you learn its bright color pattern, it is usually easy to recognize.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some common questions about the American Yellow Warbler:

Why do yellow warblers have yellow rumps?

Male yellow warblers likely evolved their bright yellow plumage through sexual selection. Females are attracted to the vibrant coloration when choosing mates. The yellow rump patches may serve as signals of fitness, indicating healthier males. They also make the males more visible and distinguishable as they display to females.

How can you attract yellow warblers to your yard?

You can attract yellow warblers by landscaping your yard with a mix of shrubs and small trees they can nest in. Leaving dead snags standing provides good perches for flycatching. Planting native wildflowers and flowering shrubs provides food in the form of insects. Avoid using pesticides which reduce insect prey. Put up nest boxes suited for warblers. Supply a water source like a birdbath or fountain.

Where do yellow warblers spend the winter?

Yellow warblers overwinter in the tropics of Central America, northern South America, southern Mexico, and the Caribbean islands. They occur in a variety of wooded habitats including mangroves, plantations, gardens, and second growth forests.

Do yellow warblers migrate at night?

Yes, yellow warblers perform their long migrations under the cover of darkness. They fly south in loose flocks at night and rest and feed during the day. Nocturnal migration might help them avoid predators and take advantage of calmer winds and cooler temperatures.

Why is the yellow warbler population declining?

Habitat loss, particularly on the tropical wintering grounds, is the most likely cause of yellow warbler declines. Deforestation of mangroves and forests in Central and South America removes crucial wintering habitat. Pesticide use may also contribute to declines by reducing insect prey.

Conclusion

With its bright yellow plumage dotted with olive-green, the American Yellow Warbler is one of the most recognizable and colorful of the North American wood warblers. The male’s striking yellow rump provides a useful identifier for this migratory songbird. Yellow warblers live up to their name, decorating fields and woodlands with their cheery golden song each spring. Paying attention to field marks like the rump patch allows even novice birders to readily identify the American Yellow Warbler. The next time you see a flash of gold in the branches, take a closer look for the yellow rump to confirm it’s a yellow warbler.