Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citreaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

General

Prothonotary Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with olive-green back and gray wings and tail. Head, neck, and underparts are vibrant yellow; undertail coverts are white. Female and juvenile are duller and have olive-green wash on heads and faces.

Range and Habitat

Prothonotary Warbler: Breeds mainly in the southeastern states north to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include wooded swamps, flooded bottomland forests, and streams with dead trees.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet -sweet-sweet", "chip"

Interesting Facts

The Prothonotary Warbler is an endangered bird in Canada.

The disappearance of its favorite winter habitat, mangrove swamps, may eventually present a threat to populations.

It is one of only two warbler species in North America who nests in cavities. The other is Lucy’s Warbler.

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

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler: Medium-sized warbler with olive-green back and blue-gray wings and tail. Head, neck, and underparts are vibrant yellow and the undertail coverts are white. Bill, legs and feet are black. The only eastern warbler that nests in tree hollows. Once called the Golden Swamp Warbler.

● Song: "sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet -sweet-sweet", "chip"

● Foraging & Feeding: Prothonotary Warbler: Eats mostly insects, but also fruits and seeds; forages in trees, shrubs, and on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Prothonotary Warbler: Four to six pink or cream eggs, spotted with brown and gray, are laid in a tree cavity, stump hole, birdhouse, or other man-made structure, such as a mailbox. The cavity is stuffed with mosses to form a nest cup. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Prothonotary Warbler: Female Yellow Warbler has yellow wings and undertail coverts. Blue-winged Warbler has black eye-lines and pale wing-bars.

Flight Pattern

Rapid direct flight.

● Range & Habitat: Prothonotary Warbler: Breeds mainly in the southeastern states north to Minnesota, Michigan, and New York. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include wooded swamps, flooded bottomland forests, and streams with dead trees.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.5 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America