Common Yellowthroat

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Common Yellowthroat

Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote. 

[Common Yellowthroat song]

Flitting from stem to stem, a yellow bird in a tiny black bandit mask sings with a voice many times his size. 

    [Common Yellowthroat song]

Common Yellowthroats are one of the most abundant warblers in North America. They’re adaptable birds, thriving in places that pickier warblers pass over. So it’s easy to find yellowthroats in urban areas. Check for them in marshes, overgrown fields, and brushy areas along streams or trails.

    [Common Yellowthroat song]

Many people remember the yellowthroat’s song pattern with the phrase “witchety-witchety-witchety!” During the breeding season, males may repeat the song an earworm-inducing 300 times an hour.

    [Common Yellowthroat song]

Only adult males have those bandit masks. But females and young males have light brown backs and those signature bright yellow throats, which helps distinguish them from similar-looking warblers. 

    [Common Yellowthroat call]

To get a good look, you might have to look down rather than up. Yellowthroats spend most of their time among low-growing plants and shrub branches. There, they feast on insects and spiders on leaves and bark, or grab a snack from a fruit bush.

Common Yellowthroats are warblers that are skillful at living alongside people — making them a great introduction to the songs and bright colors of the warbler family.

    [Common Yellowthroat song]

For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Common Yellowthroat ML527195 recorded by Wil Hershberger, and Common Yellowthroat ML219656 recorded by Bob McGuire.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote   April 2023         
Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# COYE-01-2023-04-25        COYE-01

Reference:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/comyel/cur/introduction
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Yellowthroat/overview