4.75 inches to 5 inches long. The Yellow Warbler is a well named bird as it is extensively yellow. It is the only warbler with a mostly yellow underside of the tail and yellow tail spots. The back and wings can be somewhat olive-yellow but the wing feathers always have yellow edging with yellow wing bars. The dark eye is prominent on a uniformly yellow face. Reddish streaks below are distinct in the male. Females are overall more dull with faint or absent red streaks. Immature birds can be very pale but still will have the yellow spots on inner webs of the underside of tail. The Yellow Warbler is similar to an Orange-crowned Warbler but Orange-crowned has faint dusky streaking on underparts, a uniform dark tail with no tail spots, and lacks wing bars. The Yellow Warbler is also similar to a female and juvenile Wilson’s Warbler but the Wilson’s has a longer tail with no yellow tail spots and a more uniform olive green on the upperparts.
The Yellow Warbler is very common and conspicuous in migration. It is a somewhat common breeder in Fontenelle Forest. The Yellow Warbler favors brushy areas near wet habitats, especially willows and open woodlands. It usually shows up in mid to late April and leaves by late August with some stragglers still showing up in mid to late September.
Like most warblers The Yellow Warbler is always flitting from branch to branch as it feeds. It sometimes sallies out to catch flying insects. With its bright yellow coloration it is easy to spot. It is a tame bird that responds readily to pishing. The song is one that is very often heard in the forest at the appropriate season. It is a rapid “Sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet” or “Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.” Nests are usually placed in upright forks of branches.
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