Prothonotary Warbler
Protonotaria citrea
Shockingly bright warbler of swamps and wet forest. Adult males have gorgeous yellow head and body with greenish back and blue-gray wings. Females and immature are slightly duller but still distinctive. Breeds in wet deciduous forests, primarily in the southeastern U.S. Winters to northern South America, where still has an affinity for wet forests, including mangroves. Typically stays in the understory, but males can perch up high when singing. Listen for loud, piercing series of 6-10 “tsweet” notes. One of only two warblers that nests in cavities.
Identification
The prothonotary warbler is 13 cm (5.1 in) long, weighs 12.5 g (0.44 oz), and has a wingspan of 22 cm (8.75 in). It has an olive-coloured back with blue-grey wings and tail, yellow underparts, a relatively long pointed bill, and black legs. The adult male has a bright orange-yellow head. Females and immature birds are duller and have a yellow head. In flight from below, the short, wide tail has a distinctive two-toned pattern, white at the base and dark at the tip.
Taxonomy
The prothonotary warbler was described by the French polymath Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon in 1779 in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux from a specimen collected in Louisiana. Buffon coined the French name Le figuier protonotaire. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by François-Nicolas Martinet in the Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle, which was produced under the supervision of Edme-Louis Daubenton to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist Pieter Boddaert coined the binomial name Motacilla citrea in his catalogue of the Planches Enluminées. The prothonotary warbler is now the only species placed in the genus Protonotaria that was introduced in 1858 by the American naturalist Spencer Baird. The species is monotypic, no subspecies are recognised.<p>The genus name is from Late Latin protonotarius, meaning "prothonotary", a notary attached to the Byzantine court who wore golden-yellow robes. The specific citrea is from Latin citreus meaning the colour "citrine". It was once known as the golden swamp warbler.<p>A molecular phylogenetic study of the family Parulidae published in 2010 found that the prothonotary warbler was a sister species to Swainson's warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii).
- Scientific name
- Protonotaria citrea
- Authority
- (Boddaert, 1783)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
- Genus
- Protonotaria
Range and habitat
The prothonotary warbler mostly breeds in hardwood swamps in extreme southeastern Ontario and the eastern United States. However, it may nest near other bodies of water such as creeks, streams, ponds, and swimming pools.<p>The habitat of the warblers during migration is not well known. However, they are particularly prominent in Belize during spring migration.<p>The warblers winter in the West Indies, Central America and northern South America, primarily in Mangrove Swamps.<p>It is a rare vagrant to parts of the western United States, most notably California.
- Breeding range
- NA : c, e, se USA
- Non-breeding range
- MA, West Indies and n SA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The prothonotary warbler is the only eastern warbler that nests in natural or artificial cavities, sometimes using old downy woodpecker holes. The male often builds several incomplete, unused nests in his territory; the female builds the real nest and lays 3–7 eggs.<p>The preferred foraging habitat is dense, woody streams, where the prothonotary warbler forages actively in low foliage, mainly for insects and snails.<p>The song of this bird is a simple, loud, ringing sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet-sweet. The call is a loud, dry chip, like that of a hooded warbler. Its flight call is a loud seeep.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Gray-striped Spurfowl
Pternistis griseostriatus
Large and brownish francolin that is endemic to Angola. Mostly buffy brown, with pale stripes on the back and chestnut stripes on the underparts. The legs are red and the bill mostly red. Found in gallery forest, thickets, scrub, and adjacent cultivated areas. Generally shy and unapproachable. The common vocalization is a duet of raspy and clucking notes. Occurs alongside Red-necked Francolin, but paler overall, without large patches of red bare skin on the throat and face.
Yellow-eared Spiderhunter
Arachnothera chrysogenys
Large spiderhunter with yellow eyerings and a similarly-colored tuft on the cheek. Bill is bicolored: pinkish at the base and darker towards the tip. Faint streaking on the throat, slightly longer and more slender bill, larger yellow ear tuft, and slightly narrower eyerings help distinguish it from similar Spectacled Spiderhunter. Forages in upper levels of lowland, foothill, and montane forests. Gives rather dry papery chittering.
Yellow-billed Kingfisher
Syma torotoro
Small green kingfisher with orange head and bright yellow bill, found in wet rainforest on Cape York Peninsula and in New Guinea. In flight, note uniformly colored wings (no wing spots). Adult female has small black cap. Juvenile similar to adult but with black bill. Call a rolling, descending trill, rather like call of Fan-tailed Cuckoo.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.