The Wilson’s Warbler (Cardellina pusilla) is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent in the female. It breeds across Canada and south through the western United States, and winters from Mexico south through much of Central America. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe. [Wikipedia]
Wilson’s Warblers dance around willow and alder thickets, often near water, to the rapid beat of their chattering song. This bright yellow warbler with a black cap is one of the smallest warblers in the U.S. and among the most recognizable. They rarely slow down, dashing between shrubs, grabbing insects from one leaf after another, and popping up on low perches to sing. Wilson’s Warblers breed in mountains and northern forests, but pass through every state in the lower 48 during migration—so be on the lookout when they are on the move in the spring and fall. [All About Birds]
Wilson’s Warbler Facts [All About Birds]
- Naturalist Alexander Wilson, often called the “father of American ornithology,” described the Wilson’s Warbler in 1811 which he called the “green black-capt flycatcher.”
- When most songbird nestlings are ready to leave the nest, they hop out and don’t return to the nest, but some Wilson’s Warbler fledglings head back to the nest for a night or two after fledging.
- Wilson’s Warblers tend to be brighter yellow in the West and paler yellow in the East. Pacific Coast populations have the brightest yellow, almost orange, foreheads and faces. Rocky Mountain and Alaskan birds also tend to be slightly larger than the Eastern and Pacific Coast populations.
- The oldest recorded Wilson’s Warbler was a male, and at least 8 years, 11 months, when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2008. He had been banded in the same state in 2000.