Yellow Warbler - Setophaga petechia

Yellow Warbler has a partial preformative molt, and partial to incomplete prealternate molts that include some to all greater coverts and tertials. Once beyond formative plumage, sex can usually be determined by plumage, but appearance can vary considerably among individuals, and it is best to consider multiple features in determining both sex and age.

Quick tips

• Check the primary coverts - on FCF/FCA (HY/SY) birds they have minimal edging and are often narrow, pointed, and quite dull and abraded by spring, while on DCB/DCA (AHY/ASY) birds they have yellow edging and are broader, fairly rounded, and relatively fresh.
• Check the secondaries - on FCF/FCA (HY/SY) birds they are brownish with little to no yellow edging, while on DCB/DCA (AHY/ASY) birds they have yellow edging similar to the primary coverts (note that this criterion is most useful in spring, as the differences in fall can be slight).
• Check the shape of the outer rectrices - on FCF/FCA (HY/SY) birds they are fairly pointed and often abraded, while on DCB/DCA (AHY/ASY) birds they are broader, fairly rounded, and more likely to remain fresh; note that colour pattern can be rather variable and should not be considered reliable except in extreme cases.
• Only after age has been determined, use breast streaks to help identify sex - DCB/DCA (AHY/ASY) males have extensive reddish-brown streaking, FCA (SY) males and DCA (ASY) females tend to have finer, less extensive streaking, and FCF (HY) males, DCB (AHY) females, and FCF/FCA (HY/SY) females have minimal streaking.

Species account prepared by McGill Bird Observatory (2016). Last updated by Marcel Gahbauer (Mar 2022)