Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Scientific Name:
Setophaga coronata
Type:
Bird
Habitat:
Nest in coniferous forests then often winter in brush and thickets along coasts or near a river's edge
Range:
Throughout much of North America
Status:
Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
This species is
NATIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
Yellow-rumped warblers are small songbirds measuring up to 5 ½ inches in height and weighing in at half an ounce. Yellow-rumped warblers are gray with black and white on their wings and defining patches of yellow on their face, sides and rump. Their colors are much brighter and more vibrant in the spring, and in males. The diet of yellow-rumped warblers is diverse and varied; in the summer they dine on insects including caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids and beetles, while in the winter they select fruits and berries. Yellow-rumped warblers are able to digest waxy berries such as bayberry and wax myrtle, this allows yellow-rumped warblers to live further north than other types of warblers
Fast Facts:
Because of the yellow markings on a yellow-rumped warblers, some call them by their nickname "butter-butt".
To attract yellow-rumped warblers to your backyard in the winter, consider offering peanut butter, suet, sunflower seeds, and raisins.
In winter, yellow-rumped warblers will often travel in large flocks.
There are two subspecies, each with a slightly different appearance and a preferred geographic location; in the eastern US you may find the Myrtle Warbler while the Audubon's Warbler is found in the western US.
Sources:
National Audubon Society Field Guide https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/yellow-rumped-warbler
Cornell Lab of Ornithology https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler
National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/yellow-rumped-warbler
US Fish & Wildlife Service https://www.fws.gov/refuge/julia_butler_hansen/wildlife_and_habitat/habitats/birds/yellow_rumped_warbler.html
Image credit: Shawn Taylor, https://www.flickr.com/photos/atlnature/49480297017/in/photolist-2iopsrg-2iokSru-2kVdDja-2kVaKJ9-2kWEkJq-2mBn46w-2kV9Gfk-2kV6dq4-PAUgPA-2iokSMp-QPMm5E-DUpZUv-2kSz1bM-SaVqJn-23hatsq-2kupqN3-23aqxSC-2kTCr7q-2mU4xZg-PCodP1-CCA7Bd-4FE2VN-2ifyVNS-2k15bQB-8FxdSY-5ySckM-2k15bN7-x8Q3m3-4wfVGf-8FxbuG-2jVaa3g-2jVaa2Q-26BahMg-RBvy4c-RBvyci-GjSZZt-2kSBUAS-GtZECc-24KY9pv-DesPr3-Gt8ub-SPHn7b-2iYYwFz-2kvg3Bk-yD6c6T-2fx1UGH-p4cbny-2fmw1GM-292o533-2iUCnS4, license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped from original.
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Regina Hockett (research & content)
Rachel Carroll (edits & page design)