Educational Corner: Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

The Common Yellowthroat, about 5 inches long, is indeed common and also has a yellow throat. But what’s most striking on the male of this species is its bold, black, Zorro-like mask. The female is mostly a dull yellow. The male sings “Witchety, witchety, witchety.” During migration, yellowthroats frequent fields and woodland edges. They can be found fairly low throughout the year while feeding and nesting. During breeding season, the male often launches himself 10- to 25-feet in the sky, then performs a courtship display flight while singing.

Distribution: breeds throughout most of the US, winters in southeastern U.S., Mexico and Central America.

Nesting: The female builds a nest low in vegetation often in densely forb-covered fields or in or near wet areas including marshes. She incubates three to five eggs for 12 days, giving wren-like chatter notes if disturbed. The young fledge in about 10 days.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae

Facts:

• A nonmigratory subspecies of the Common
Yellowthroat lives year-round in the Rio Grande
valley in Texas.