Songs
- Song (Myrtle)
Recorded by Wilbur L. Hershberger
New Hampshire July 1997
- Song (Audubon's)
Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller
Oregon June 1989
- Song (Audubon's)
Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller
Oregon May 1989
Courtesy of Macaulay Library
© Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Males sing a slow, soft, sweetly whistled warble or trill. The pitch is mostly even but may rise or fall slightly, speeding up as it ends. Songs last 1-3 seconds and consist of up to 21 individual notes.
Calls
Yellow-rumped Warblers have two main calls. The more common one, a sharp chek, differs between the myrtle and Audubon's races. Both forms are quite recognizable and are a key call to learn for a bird watcher hoping to start sorting out migrating warblers in fall. Both sexes make this call frequently, both while foraging and while flying. Yellow-rumped Warblers also make a soft psit and a high tsee in flight.
Backyard Tips
Yellow-rumped Warblers winter across much of central and southeastern U.S., and they sometimes come to bird feeders. To attract them, try putting out sunflower seed, raisins, suet, and peanut butter.
Find This Bird
Visit the north woods or middle elevation conifer forests of the West to find Yellow-rumped Warblers during summer. They're often perched on the outer limbs of trees and are very conspicuous as they fly out after insects, often making long, aerobatic pursuits and flashing their yellow rumps and white patches in the tail. But the easiest time to see Yellow-rumped Warblers is probably on migration, when hordes of Yellow-rumped Warblers sweep down the continent, particularly along the Eastern Seaboard, where wax myrtles are abundant.
Get Involved
Keep track of any Yellow-rumped Warblers that visit your feeder from November through early April with Project FeederWatch
Record your warbler sightings online with eBird for your personal records –
and for the birding community
Enhance your yard to attract warblers and other birds. Visit our web pages on landscaping for birds.
Top 10 Ways to Help Birds in Cities
Learn more about bird photography in our Building Skills section. Then contribute your images to the Birdshare flickr site, which helps supply All About Birds and our other websites with photos.