Yellow Warblers are such a bright yellow that they seem to glow.  I’ve been seeing a lot of them this week.  They’ve recently returned from their winter range in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.  They’re one of the most widespread species of warblers in the world, nesting across most of North America.  In Pennsylvania, Yellow Warblers are the third most abundant warblers species with a population of approximately 765 thousand, following only the Common Yellowthroat (1.2 million) and the Ovenbird (1.6 million).

Like all warblers, Yellow Warblers are primarily insectivores.  In fact, they are in the genus Setophaga, which means “insect eater.”  Their diet is almost exclusively insects, especially midges (small flies), caterpillars, and beetles.  They mostly capture their prey by picking insects off the surfaces of plants, but they sometimes fly from a perch to capture a flying insect.  Yellow Warblers do not often visit feeders, but they’re one of over 160 species of birds known to eat Bark Butter.

Not all yellow warblers are Yellow Warblers.  The bird in the photo below is a yellow warbler, but it’s a different species called a Prairie Warbler.  Note the distinctive facial pattern and the bold black streaks on its sides and flanks.  Prairie Warblers nest in parts of the eastern United States, with just a few in southern Ontario.  In winter, they live in Florida and on several Caribbean Islands.