Common Yellowthroat

About the Common Yellowthroat

The common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) is a New World warbler. It is an abundant breeder in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. In the northern parts of its range the birds are migratory, wintering in the southern parts of the breeding range, Central America and the West Indies. Southern forms are largely resident. Historically, it has also been known as the "yellow bandit", Maryland yellow-throat, and yellow-breasted warbler.

The common yellowthroat was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Turdus trichas. The specific epithet is from Ancient Greek τριχας/trikhas, τριχαδος/trikhados, a type of thrush. Linnaeus based his account on "The Maryland yellow-throat" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his book Gleanings of Natural History. Linnaeus specified the locality as North America but this was restricted to the state of Maryland by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1931. The common yellowthroat is now one of 15 species placed in the genus Geothlypis that was introduced in 1847... Wikipedia →