Golden-winged Warbler

Vermivora chrysoptera

Golden wing patches, sharply declining. Hybridizes with Blue-winged Warbler, slowly losing its own identity.

Population: Declining; roughly 210,000 mature individuals globally (est. based on 2003-2004 surveys), with about 70% of breeders concentrated in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Manitoba
Habitat: Shrubby, early-successional habitat and regenerating forest edges/wet shrubby tangles for breeding; adjacent mature forest used for post-fledging; winters in premontane evergreen/open woodlands and shade-coffee plantations in Central America and northern South America
Fun fact: The Golden-winged Warbler has undergone one of the steepest declines of any North American songbird — roughly -63.8% range-wide over the past 40 years, with its Appalachian population down about 98% since the 1960s — driven by loss of early-successional shrub habitat and hybridization/competition with the closely related Blue-winged Warbler (the two are 99.97% genetically identical).
Range: Breeds in the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and southeastern Canada (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec), plus a small, sharply declining Appalachian population in the northeastern/eastern US; winters from Mexico and Central America south through northern South America
Diet: Insectivorous — mainly caterpillars (especially leafrolling species) and other insects/spiders, gleaned from curled leaves and foliage using its slender, slightly downcurved bill
Size: 0.116 m
Wingspan: 0.2 m
Lifespan: 9 years

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