Species
Golden-winged warbler
Vermivora chrysoptera
A grey warbler with golden wing patches and a black throat, declining in the mountains of north Georgia.
Photo Unknown photographer (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 12 cm long
- Weight
- About 8 to 11 g
- Habitat
- Young, shrubby forest openings in the mountains
- Diet
- Insects, especially caterpillars
- In Georgia
- A rare summer resident in the north Georgia mountains; an uncommon migrant
- Voice
- A buzzy "bee-bz-bz-bz"
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Grey body; golden crown and wing patch; black throat and mask in males
- Told apart from
- Blue-winged warbler, which is yellow with blue-grey wings
- Where to look
- Shrubby openings in mountain forests in May and June
Behaviour
Golden-winged warblers forage in shrubs and young trees, probing curled leaves for caterpillars.
Why they matter
Golden-winged warblers have declined sharply, partly because of habitat loss and hybridisation with blue-winged warblers. They depend on young forest openings.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Nest — A cup on the ground at the base of a shrub
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 10 to 11 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Lifespan — Several years
Living around people
- Managed forest openings in the mountains help them.
Misconceptions
- All warblers are yellow. Golden-winged warblers are mostly grey.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | In Central and South America | In the tropics | In the tropics | Migrating north | Nesting in the mountains | Nesting | Young fledging | Migrating | Migrants | In the tropics | In the tropics | In the tropics |
Where it lives
Recorded in 40 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
United States
- Alabamapassing through
- Arkansaspassing through
- Coloradopassing through
- District of Columbiapassing through
- Floridapassing through
- Georgiabreeding
- Illinoispassing through
- Indianapassing through
- Iowapassing through
- Kansaspassing through
- Kentuckypassing through
- Louisianapassing through
- Marylandbreeding
- Michiganbreeding
- Minnesotabreeding
- Mississippipassing through
- Missouripassing through
- Nebraskapassing through
- New Jerseybreeding
- New Yorkbreeding
- North Carolinabreeding
- North Dakotapassing through
- Ohiopassing through
- Pennsylvaniabreeding
- South Dakotabreeding
- Tennesseebreeding
- Texaspassing through
- Vermontbreeding
- Virginiabreeding
- West Virginiabreeding
- Wisconsinbreeding
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal