Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 5.1 in
13 cm - Weight
- 0.3–0.4 oz
8–11 g
Other Names
- Paruline a ailes dorees (French)
- Verdin alidorado (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Golden-winged Warbler prefers early successional habitats for nesting. Recently abandoned farms and clearcuts are ideal. These habitats, however, do not last long, and the warbler often quickly disappears from an area. The warbler benefited from the extensive deforestation of the last several centuries, especially as farms were abandoned in the 20th century. Current reforestation is reducing available breeding habitat.
- The Golden-winged Warbler hybridizes extensively with the Blue-winged Warbler, giving rise to the distinctly plumaged "Brewster's" and "Lawrence's" warblers. Brewster's looks like a Blue-winged Warbler with a white chest, and Lawrence's looks like an all-yellow Golden-winged Warbler. Backcrosses of hybrids to pure parental types result in many intermediate-appearing birds.
- Hybrids do not sing intermediate songs but sing either normal Blue-winged Warbler or Golden-winged Warbler songs. Some birds sing both. Occasionally pure-looking parental types sing the "wrong" song.
- For more information on the Golden-winged Warbler, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Golded-winged Warbler Atlas Project.
Habitat
Open Woodland
Breeds in patchy shrubland and forest edge, such as shrubby fields, marshes, and bogs. Winters in canopy of tropical forests.
Food
Insects
Insects and spiders.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–6 eggs
- Egg Description
- Whitish with small streaks of brown near large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless.
Nest Description
Open cup of grasses, bark, and dead leaves. Leaves may form cap over eggs. Usually on or near ground.
Nest Placement
Ground
Behavior
Foliage Gleaner
Forages mostly in upper half of trees and shrubs. Probes dead leaf clusters in winter, spreading bill to open curled leaves. Often hangs upside down.
Conservation
Near Threatened
The Golden-winged Warbler is declining dramatically in the Northeastern United States, and is listed as a Federal Species of Special Concern. Although populations are declining in many areas, it is spreading its range to the northwest where farmland abandonment and clear cutting are common. Declines correlate with loss of shrub habitat and the expansion of Blue-winged Warbler.
Credits
- Confer, J. L. 1992. Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera). In The Birds of North America, No. 14 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.