Yellow Rumped Warbler
The eastern Myrtle Warbler, the western Audubon’s Warbler, the northwest Mexican Black-fronted Warbler, and the Guatemalan Goldman’s Warbler are four closely related North American bird forms that are quite often simply referred to as the Yellow-rumped Warbler. It breeds from eastern North America west to the Pacific, and southward into Western Mexico. The Audubon’s and Myrtle warblers are migratory, and travel to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for winters.
The backs of the male Myrtle and Audubon’s Warbler are streaked with black on slate blue. They sport patches of white on their wings, a streaked breast, and bright yellow patches on the crown, flank, and rump. Audubon’s Warbler also has a yellow throat patch, while the Myrtle Warbler has a white eye stripe and throat, plus a contrasting black cheek patch. Although the females still have noticeable yellow rumps, they are more dull, with brown streaking front and back.
The warblers are mostly insectivorous and nest in coniferous and mixed forests. They typically lay 4 or 5 eggs in a cup-shaped nest. They will often flit out from their perches in short loops, in search of insects. Their song is a trill-like with 4–7 syllables (tyew-tyew-tyew-tyew,tew-tew-tew) and an occasional check or chip call note.
