Yellowthroat

The yellowthroats are New World warblers in the genus Geothlypis. Most members of the group have localised ranges in Mexico and Central America, but the masked yellowthroat has an extensive South American distribution, while the common yellowthroat breeds over much of North America.

Yellowthroats
Male common yellowthroat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Parulidae
Genus: Geothlypis
Cabanis, 1847
Type species
Trichas personatus[1]
Swainson, 1827
Species

See text.

Heads of Geothlypis taxa

All the yellowthroats have similar plumage, with yellow-green upperparts, yellow breast, and a mainly black bill. The adult male has a black facemask of variable extent, usually bordered above with a grey band. The female is similar, but lacks the black mask, and may be duller in plumage.

The breeding habitat of these warblers is typically marshes and other wet areas with dense low vegetation. The eggs, two in most species, but up to five for common yellowthroat, are laid in a lined cup nest low in grass or rank vegetation.

Yellowthroat are usually seen in pairs, and do not associate with other species. They are often skulking, and feed on a range of insects.

The taxonomy of these closely related species is complicated, and it is sometimes difficult to define which forms merit species status. For example common yellowthroat, Belding's yellowthroat, Altamira yellowthroat, and Bahama yellowthroat are sometimes considered conspecific. Conversely masked yellowthroat can be split to three or even four species. The name 'yellowthroat' is sometimes used as an alternate name for the yellow-throated leaflove.[2]

The geographical isolation of the various populations of this mainly sedentary group has led to its genetic divergence and speciation. This process can be seen in action in the case of masked yellowthroat, where the subspecies are separated by rainforest or the Andes, leading to the development of distinctive forms, such as the Central American race Geothlypis aequinoctialis chiriquensis. This form is found in the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama, and is separated by 1000 km from its South American cousins, from which it differs in size, appearance and vocalisations.

The Kentucky warbler, mourning warbler, and MacGillivray's warbler, all previously thought to have been members of the genus Oporornis, have since been moved to Geothlypis.[3]

Species

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Geothlypis trichasCommon yellowthroatsouthern Canada to central Mexico.
Geothlypis beldingiBelding's yellowthroatsouthern Baja California, Mexico.
Geothlypis flavovelataAltamira yellowthroatGulf slope of northeastern Mexico
Geothlypis rostrataBahama yellowthroatthe Bahamas.
Geothlypis semiflavaOlive-crowned yellowthroatColombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Geothlypis speciosaBlack-polled yellowthroatcentral Mexico and the southwestern Mexican Plateau, in Guanajuato, Michoacán, and México State.
Geothlypis aequinoctialisMasked yellowthroatVenezuela and Colombia to n Amazonian Brazil and Trinidad
Geothlypis chiriquensisChiriqui yellowthroatsouthwestern Costa Rica to Panama
Geothlypis auricularisBlack-lored yellowthroatwestern Ecuador to western Peru
Geothlypis velataSouthern yellowthroatsoutheastern Peru, eastern Bolivia, and south Amazonian Brazil to Argentina and Uruguay
Geothlypis poliocephalaGray-crowned yellowthroatBelize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and the United States.
Geothlypis nelsoniHooded yellowthroatMexico north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Geothlypis tolmieiMacGillivray's warblerwestern United States, and in boreal forests of west Canada.
Geothlypis philadelphiaMourning warblersouthern Canada, the central and eastern United States, Belieze, Bonaire, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Panama, and other Central American Islands
Geothlypis formosaKentucky warblercentral and eastern United States, often ranging as far north as Wisconsin to Pennsylvania.

References

  1. "Parulidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. "Atimastillas flavicollis - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  3. Lovette, Irby; Pérez-Emán, Jorge; Sullivan, John; Banks, Richard; Fiorentino, Isabella; Córdoba-Córdoba, Sergio; Echeverry-Galvis, María; Barker, F.; Burns, Kevin; Klicka, John; Lanyon, Scott; Bermingham, Eldredge (7 August 2010). "A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (2): 753–770. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.018. PMID 20696258. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  • Curson, Quinn and Beadle, New World Warblers ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
  • ffrench, Richard (1991). A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (2nd ed.). Comstock Publishing. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2.
  • Hilty, Birds of Venezuela ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
  • Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
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