Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysopteraOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

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

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Overview

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.

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.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Similar Sounding

Voice Text

"beee-bzz-bzz-bzz"

Interesting Facts

The Golden-winged Warbler benefited from the extensive deforestation of the last several centuries, especially as farms were abandoned in the 20th century. Current reforestation is reducing available breeding habitat.

They hybridize extensively with the Blue-winged Warbler, giving rise to the distinctly plumaged "Brewster's" and "Lawrence's" warblers. Backcrosses of hybrids to pure parental types result in many intermediate-appearing birds.

Hybrids do not sing intermediate songs but sing either normal Blue-winged Warbler or Golden-winged Warbler songs. Some birds sing both. Occasionally pure-looking parental types sing the "wrong" song.

A group of warblers has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "confusion", "fall", and "wrench" of warblers.

Bird Term Glossary

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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

● 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

Perching-like Body

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