Animalia Life
Vermivora chrysoptera
SUBFAMILY
Parulinae
TAXONOMY
Vermivora chrysoptera Linnaeus, 1766, Pennsylvania.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Paruline а ailes dorйes; German: Goldflьgel-Waldsдnger;
Spanish: Reinita Gusanera.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
4.5–5 in (11.4–12.7 cm). The very thin-billed golden-winged
warbler has a yellow crown, and two yellow wing bars. The remaining
plumage has a white, black, and gray pattern reminiscent
of a chickadee, with a gray back and wings, white underside, and
black eye mask and throat. The female is similar, but duller, with
more olive coloration than gray and black.
DISTRIBUTION
Breed in northern United States, winter in Central America.
HABITAT
Forest edges and swamps.
BEHAVIOR
Has a buzzing song. Often seen hanging upside-down on
branches, much as chickadees do.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Mainly insects.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds in low bushes, building cup-shaped nests on or close to
the ground. Average clutch is five to seven speckled eggs that
hatch in less than two weeks. Sometimes occurs side by side
with blue-winged warblers, and the two produce viable hybrid
offspring, known by the common names of Brewster’s and
Lawrence’s warblers.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened, but appears to be on the decline where its
HABITAT
overlaps with that of blue-winged warblers.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Golden-winged warbler
