Yellow Warbler Diet

The yellow warbler appears to be almost entirely yellow.

From a distance, yellow warblers appear to be entirely yellow in color, although their tails and upper part of their body have a slight greenish tinge. The male of the species may be identified by spots of red in its plumage. The female builds the nest for her eggs. During the 12 days she incubates her eggs the male brings her food. During breeding season their diet primarily consists of berries.

Habitat

The yellow warbler will build a nest almost anywhere.

The yellow warbler will nest from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and can be found almost anywhere in North America. It prefers wet habitats, and is most common in willows and alders, open woodlands, gardens and orchards. They can be difficult to see because they prefer to inhabit dense vegetation. Their diet consists of insects that they catch in mid-air or glean from foliage.

Extended Habitat

The yellow warbler is the most common warbler variety.

The scientific name of the yellow warbler is the Dendroica petechia. Due to its popularity, and extended habitats, the yellow warbler has a variety of common names based upon location. The flexibility of its diet allows the yellow warbler to inhabit most of North America. Its ability to digest berries allows the yellow warbler to travel to northern climates. It may also be called the blue-eyed yellow warbler, the golden warbler, the summer yellowbird, the yellow poll or the wild canary.

Diet and Feeding Habits

The yellow warbler eats many of the insects that harm our gardens.

The yellow warbler eats and feeds its young a variety of caterpillars and other small insects. It is responsible for controlling the population of many caterpillars that are destructive to the foliage of trees and shrubs. In addition, the yellow warbler can be found consuming canker worms, gypsy moths, brown tail moth larvae, bark beetles, borers, weevils, small moths, aphids, grasshoppers and spiders.

Feeding their Young

The young yellow warbler has less than a 33 percent survival rate.

The food supply of the yellow warbler is under the greatest stress after the chicks have hatched. Juvenile yellow warblers are similar in appearance to the adults of the species. They are slightly paler in color, and lack the yellow tail spots. Caterpillars serve as the staple of hatchlings.

Food Acquisition

When caterpillars become scarce, the yellow warbler will eat berries.

The yellow warbler finds most of its food by rummaging in shrubs and tree branches. Sometimes they will hawk prey that tries to fly away. In the winter months the yellow warbler will subsist on small fruits and berries. Although their diet consists mostly of spiders and insect larvae, the yellow warbler may be observed feeding from suet feeders. Based on their propensity for inhabiting dense foliage, establishing your own suet feeder is often the best way to attract a yellow warbler.

References

• "The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds"; John Terres; 1982
• "National Geographic Society Field Guide to the Birds of North America"; Shirley L. Scott; 1987