Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysopteraOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: GWWA Scientific Name: VERCHR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178852

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Grassland with scattered trees, Bushes, shrubs, and thickets

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Uncommon to rare, Declining

Egg Color:

Creamy white with brown splotches and spots

Number of Eggs:

4 - 7

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Bark pieces and grass, lined with hair and a few bark chips.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Golden-winged Warbler: Small warbler with gray upperparts and white underparts. Face is white with black mask and throat, and head has a yellow crown. Wings are gray with large yellow patches. Female is duller. Hybridizes with Blue-winged Warbler.

Range and Habitat

Golden-winged Warbler: Breeds from southern Manitoba and New Hampshire south to New Jersey and Iowa, and in the mountains to Georgia. Spends winters from southern Mexico to northern South America. Preferred habitats include abandoned fields and pastures grown to saplings.

Breeding and Nesting

Golden-winged Warbler: Four to seven creamy white eggs with brown splotches and spots are laid in a cup of dead leaves and fibers set on or near the ground in thick vegetation. Eggs are incubated for approximately 10 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Golden-winged Warbler: Feeds on insects, especially caterpillars and pupae. Gleans leaves and twigs, concentrating on dead leaf clusters; acrobatic forager, often hanging upside-down like a chickadee.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Golden-winged Warbler: Song is a wheezy "beee-bzz-bzz" with the first syllable higher in pitch.

Similar Species

Golden-winged Warbler: None in range.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Golden-winged Warbler

Golden-winged Warbler: Small warbler with gray upperparts and white underparts. Face is white with black mask and throat, and head has a yellow crown. Wings are gray with large yellow patches. Its flight is weak and fluttering, alternates rapid wing beats with periods of wings drawn to its sides.

● Song: "beee-bzz-bzz-bzz"

● Foraging & Feeding: Golden-winged Warbler: Feeds on insects, especially caterpillars and pupae. Gleans leaves and twigs, concentrating on dead leaf clusters; acrobatic forager, often hanging upside-down like a chickadee.

● Breeding & nesting: Golden-winged Warbler: Four to seven creamy white eggs with brown splotches and spots are laid in a cup of dead leaves and fibers set on or near the ground in thick vegetation. Eggs are incubated for approximately 10 days by the female.

● Similar species: Golden-winged Warbler: None in range.

Flight Pattern

Weak flight on rapidly beating wings.

● Range & Habitat: Golden-winged Warbler: Breeds from southern Manitoba and New Hampshire south to New Jersey and Iowa, and in the mountains to Georgia. Spends winters from southern Mexico to northern South America. Preferred habitats include abandoned fields and pastures grown to saplings.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationUncommon to rare, Declining

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.3 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Crown

The crown is the top part of the birds head.

Face

The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America