Common Yellowthroat
Geothlypis trichas · New World Warblers
Banding codeCOYE
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 5 in long.
2Color pattern
- Male: black mask with a white border
- Bright yellow throat
- Olive back; females lack the mask
3Habitat & season
Marshes, wet thickets, cattails
In northern Utah: summer.
Seen most often in May and June.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
A rolling, repeated phrase.
“witchety-witchety-witchety”
iNat 365922658 by Eric Schmidt · Grand County, US-UT, US · CC BY
Know it
- Its song sounds like 'witchety-witchety-witchety.'
- The male's black mask looks like a bandit's.
- A warbler that lives low in marsh vegetation rather than in trees.
Often confused with
- Orange-crowned Warbler
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
The common yellowthroat is a New World warbler. It is an abundant breeder in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. In the northern parts of its range the birds are migratory, wintering in the southern parts of the breeding range, Central America and the West Indies. Southern forms are largely resident. Historically, it has also been known as the "yellow bandit", Maryland yellow-throat, and yellow-breasted warbler.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0