The yellow-throated warbler (Setophaga dominica) is a small migratory songbird species in the New World warbler family (Parulidae) found in temperate North America.
Taxonomy
The yellow-throated warbler was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla dominica. Linnaeus based his account on "Le Figuier cendré de S. Dominigue" that had been described and illustrated in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in his multivolume Ornithology. Linnaeus specified the location as Jamaica and Dominica but this was restricted to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1910. The yellow-throated warbler is now one of over 30 species placed in the genus Setophaga that was introduced by the English naturalist William Swainson in 1827. The genus name Setophaga combines the Ancient Greek σης/sēs, σητος/sētos meaning "moth" with -φαγος/-phagos meaning "-eating".
Three subspecies are currently accepted: The most obvious variation is that S. d. dominica usually (but not always) has some yellow at the front end of the supercilium, while S. d. albilora always has an entirely white supercilium.
Grace's warbler S. graciae from the southern Rocky Mountains is also closely related and similar in appearance, but lacks the white patch on the neck side, being uniformly gray there. Sutton's warblers lack the black streaks bordering the breast indicative of yellow-throated warblers, and have a suffused greenish-yellow wash on their back, which is also not indicative of yellow-throated warblers. The Sutton's warbler was first discovered in 1940 in West Virginia.
Description
thumb|Upperside coloration
thumb|right|Yellow-throated warbler in [[Estell Manor, New Jersey.]]
The yellow-throated warbler is long, with a wingspan of , and weighs .
In summer, male yellow-throated warblers display gray upperparts and wings, with double white wing bars. Their throats are yellow, and the remainder of their underparts are white, and are streaked with black on the flanks. Their heads are strongly patterned in black and white, with a long supercilium. The remiges and rectrices are black.
The females, immatures and non-breeding males resemble washed-out versions of the summer males; in particular they have a less crisply defined strong head pattern. They also have less bright yellows, and dark gray feathers instead of black ones in the body plumage. Compared to many other New World warblers, sexual dimorphism is slight.
In the United States, its range differs from typical Setophaga warblers because they have a more expansive resident population in the South than other Setophaga warblers. Moreover, their breeding range is more southerly, and their wintering range more is northerly, than the other warblers in the genus. According to McKay et al., "[t]he near absence of the species from the lower Piedmont of the Carolinas and Georgia ... presents a puzzle." They have also been observed catching and eating anoles.
Breeding
These birds build cup-shaped nests which are built in trees, and are concealed amongst conifer needles or Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides). Their clutches consist of 3–5 (usually 4) eggs.