Yellow-rumped Warbler

yellow rumped warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler ‘Audubon’
Yellow rumped Warbler Myrtle
Yellow-rumped Warbler Myrtle

Yellow-rumped Warblers are gray with flashes of yellow on the face, sides, and rump and white in the wings. Females may be slightly brown, and winter birds are paler brown with bright yellow rumps and sides turning bright yellow and gray again in spring.

There are two subspecies, the Myrtle Warbler of the eastern US and boreal forests of Canada, which lacks the yellow throat, and the Audubon’s Warbler of the west, which also has more white in the wings.

  • Setophaga coronata
  • Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
  • Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (12-13 g)
  • Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm)

Range

Yellow-rumped Warblers breed predominantly in Canada and parts of the Rockies and the Appalachian mountains.

During migration, they can be seen in the Midwest before overwintering in southern and southwestern US states and the Pacific Coast and into Mexico and Central America.

Habitat And Diet

You can find Yellow-rumped Warblers in coniferous forests, especially during the breeding season. During winter, they can be found in open areas with fruiting shrubs. In summer, they eat mostly insects and on migration, and in winter, they eat mostly fruit, including bayberry and wax myrtle. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler Song:

Nests

Nests of Yellow-rumped Warblers are made by females in conifer trees from twigs, pine needles, and grass and lined with soft grass, moss, and hair. They lay up to six eggs which take around two weeks to hatch and a further two weeks to leave the nest.

Attract Yellow-rumped Warblers

Attract them to your backyard with sunflower seeds, suet, raisins, and peanut butter.

Fun Fact:

Yellow-rumped Warblers form flocks numbering thousands in the winter, and they can be aggressive to any other species getting too close.