You’ve undoubtedly seen a songbird with yellow feathers in your yard if you’ve spent any time birdwatching. Birds, especially little songbirds, frequently have a yellow color. In this article, we’ll study 24 tiny yellow birds with images and descriptions to assist you recognize them.
24 TYPES OF SMALL YELLOW BIRDS
Little birds that are yellow include warblers, finches, and vireos. Yellow is thought to assist them blend in with the hues of light among tree leaves, where they search for insects.
1. AMERICAN GOLDFINCH
Scientific name: Spinus tristis
The most popular and well-known yellow songbird in the United States is most likely the familiar American goldfinch. Throughout the spring, summer, and winter, watch this bird from the coast to Canada’s north and south coasts, as well as Mexico’s and Florida’s.
Nyjer seed is a favorite of American Goldfinches, who flock to bird feeders in huge numbers. Planting native foliage and being a dependable source of food will attract them.
2. YELLOW WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga petechia
During the breeding season, a tree, shrub, or other perch with foliage may be used to spot the yellow warbler’s brilliant yellow color throughout North America. These little insect-eating songbirds prefer woodlands, where they eat insects found among the trees and shrubs. They’re so small that they can be found in spiders’ webs on occasion!
It’s difficult to attract a yellow warbler to your yard because of their diet. But, over time, having a water feature or planting trees that provide habitat may attract them to visit.
3. SCARLET TANAGER
Scientific name: Piranga olivacea
Females have bright yellow-green plumage all year, while males have just yellow for a portion of the year. Males molt back to look like females during the non-breeding season. They blend in with the forest canopy thanks to their dark yellow belly and greenish wings.
During the breeding season in the eastern United States, spot scarlet tanagers may be seen. Insects are the bird’s primary food source, but they may be drawn to a garden with berry bushes if there are enough berries.
4. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER
Scientific name: Protonotaria citrea
During the breeding season in the swampland of the southeastern United States, look for this sweetly singing warbler. Yellow heads, gray wings, and gray tails are seen in both sexes. They, too, have gray beaks and eyes. They might linger in the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas throughout the winter.
Prothonotary warblers may seem fat and fluffy or sleek and streamlined, depending on where they perch. They make excellent subjects for artists and photographers. Their moniker comes from the yellow hoods worn by Roman Catholic prothonotaries, which looked like feathers in a yellow ‘hood.
5. SUMMER TANAGER
Scientific name: Piranga rubra
Females are completely yellow, whereas males are recognized for their vibrant red plumage. The summer tanager migrates from Mexico to the United States throughout the winter, then back again. During the breeding season, he will spend his summer. They may be found from Texas to Pennsylvania and Iowa, as well as in states along the southern boarder.
They prefer to stay at the tops of leaf-heavy trees searching for insects, and they can be difficult to see since they are so common.
6. WILSON’S WARBLER
Scientific name: Cardellina pusilla
Wilson’s Warblers travel across the United States to their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America, while spending the breeding season in Alaska and Canada. In the spring, they return to the north. During migrations, this implies that they are plentiful and noticeable.
Males are brighter and have a circular black patch on the crown of their heads, whereas females are yellow. Insect-eating birds will most likely perch in trees since they don’t stop at feeders.
7. LESSER GOLDFINCH
Scientific name: Spinus psaltria
The lesser goldfinch is a seed-eating finch that lives in woodlands, much like its bold black and yellow relative the American goldfinch. The West Coast, Mexico, Central America, and South America are preferred by this goldfinch.
Listen for nasal or wheezy songs to identify a lesser goldfinch. Look for congregations of birds in open woodland with deciduous trees. They adore stopping by bird feeders to snack on sunflower seeds of all types.
8. MAGNOLIA WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga magnolia
The magnolia warbler, which lives in eastern North America, is a striped and spirited bird. It migrates south to Central America and the majority of Caribbean islands after spending the breeding season in Canada and New England. As a result, the eastern half of the country is covered in snow. Only during migration can you catch them.
They breed in pine woodlands and harvest insects from the ends of tree limbs, preferring to do so.
Females lack the distinct black stripes that males have, although both sexes have yellow bellies. They won’t stop at feeders, but if you have native trees and shrubs planted, they might stay for the night during migration season.
9. BALTIMORE ORIOLE
Scientific name: Icterus galbula
The male is more orange than yellow, while the female is more brightly colored. Females, on the other hand, have a dark yellow coloration. When she builds her nest in the spring, she uses her calmer-colored leaves to blend in with the trees.
Fruit over seeds is preferred by Baltimore orioles. Oranges and sugar water are favorite foods for them. Berries and high-nectar flowers are a excellent idea for encouraging plants that may supply self-sustaining food.
10. NASHVILLE WARBLER
Scientific name: Leiothlypis ruficapilla
The Nashville warbler, a inventive, often-singing bird that eats insects and resides in woodlands, is another north-breeding warbler that migrates south to Central America. Yet, they are quite adaptable to habitat modification. They have been able to thrive in many places where other warblers would have fled because they prefer shrubbery and succession forests.
The yellow body, gray head, white eye ring, and grayish wings of the Nashville warbler are tinged with yellow.
11. HOODED WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga citrina
It’s tough to miss the attractive black hood of the male Hooded Warbler once you’ve seen it! The Southeast is home to this yellow insect-eater, which may be found as far north as southern New York and southern Michigan. It spends the winter on the coast of Central America after migrating south through Florida and across Mexico’s Gulf Coast.
Females lack the black hood, but they look somewhat similar to males.
12. COMMON YELLOWTHROAT
Scientific name: Geothlypis trichas
The black mask and brilliant yellow throat and back of the male common yellowthroat complement each other. Females have a brilliant yellow neck and breast, despite the fact that they are maskless. These little birds hide in dense bushes and marshy places, scurrying through them.
These are widespread in most of the United States during the summer, but only in certain sections of the southeast and southern California do they stay year-round.
13. PINE WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga pinus
The pine-dwelling warbler is a creature you would expect to live in pines. The male of the species, like that of most songbirds, has brighter yellow coloring. On her head and neck, the female has a little yellow.
Pine Warblers may be enticed to feeders during the winter, even though they are insectivorous. They are the only species of warbler that eats seeds on a regular basis, according to Audubon.
14. BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga virens
This little eastern warbler has a brilliant yellow head and yellow patches down its back, but its name doesn’t give it away. This prolific vocalist may be found in Virginia’s swamps as well as North and South Carolina’s coastal marshes.
Because it eats insects, you won’t see the Black-throated Green Warbler at your bird feeder. When the birds fly between their wintering grounds in Central America and the northern United States and southern Canada during the spring or fall, you have a chance of seeing one.
15. BLUE-WINGED WARBLER
Scientific name: Vermivora cyanoptera
In open woodlands, blue-winged warblers search for insects. Acrobatic jumping, leaping, and fluttering are favorite ways for them to look for food in the tree canopy. Both sexes have yellow heads and limbs, as well as blue-gray wings.
Plant native shrubbery and trees to provide Blue-winged Warblers with habitat during migration seasons. Because they’ll get more rest on their journey, this habitat is called “stopover” habitat, and it will help the birds’ health.
During migration, they pass through the southeast but spend summers in the northeast.
16. EASTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL
Scientific name: Motacilla tschutschensis
In the lower 48 states, or even much of North America, you’re not likely to see an Eastern yellow wagtail. During the warmer months, it’s a yellow wagtail that lives in Siberia’s arctic and Alaska’s coast. Insect-eating and open grasslands near water sources are the preferred habitat of this bright yellow-bellied bird.
While it is not spending its time in the warm season up in Alaska and northern Russia, the Eastern yellow wagtail winters in southeast Asia.
17. EVENING GROSBEAK
Scientific name: Coccothraustes vespertinus
This cheerful songbird is dressed in a pattern that is unusual among most little finches, with variegated hues of black, white, and yellow. In Canada and the United States’ evergreen northern woods, it takes advantage of the seeds.
The Evening Grosbeak can crack open seeds that other finches can’t because of its enormous beak. In the northern woods, it holds a monopoly on certain seeds.
18. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER
Scientific name: Vermivora chrysoptera
Golden-winged warblers migrate between Central and northern South America, as well as the northeast United States, and are a migratory warbler species. Yellow patches on the head, wings, and back of both sexes mix a gray and white wash on both sides.
The locations where golden-winged warblers raise their offspring are a source of worry for them. Pairs lay eggs and raise youngsters in thickets, according to ornithologists, but only until the youngsters fledge. The family then relocated to older woods with larger trees, where the parents could take their kids.
19. ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER
Scientific name: Leiothlypis celata
Orange-crowned warblers have yellow-olive coloring and a thin black line through the eye, and both male and female orange-crowneds are identical. Immature birds have a gray head and are paler. Most of Canada and up through Alaska are home to these warblers during the breeding season. They migrate to Mexico and the southern United States throughout the winter. States are the regional entities that have power. Throughout the spring and autumn migrations, you may see them in the rest of the nation.
They have an orange crown, although it’s usually concealed. Maybe to deter nest-robbing birds, the majority of them breed on the ground.
20. KENTUCKY WARBLER
Scientific name: Geothlypis formosa
The Kentucky warbler is a yellow warbler that prefers to search for insects on the forest floor, and its name is appropriately descriptive of its distinctive song and summer habitat in the southeastern United States.
The Kentucky warbler stands out from the rest of the warblers in the region by preferring to live on the ground. Even on the ground, female Kentucky warblers build nests. Throughout their whole lives, males will only sing one song.
21. WARBLING VIREO
Scientific name: Vireo gilvus
Throughout most of the United States, this delightful little vireo is a frequent summer visitor. They won’t catch your attention because of their plain coloring and tendency to stay high in trees. Yet, they sing a lot and their well-known “warbling” song is often enough to locate them.
A dark gray back with an olive tint, and a pale yellow neck and belly.
22. EASTERN MEADOWLARK
Scientific name: Sturnella magna
Throughout much of the eastern United States and much of the southern Great Plains, the Eastern meadowlark is a year-round resident of grasslands and open landscapes. It loves perching on fences and phone lines. It also searches for insects to consume while browsing through grass.
The yellow feathers are most prominent on the belly and chest, and both sexes appear similar.
23. KIRTLAND’S WARBLER
Scientific name: Setophaga kirtlandii
You may see a Kirtland’s warbler if you live in Florida’s Gulf Coast or in Michigan’s Great Lakes region. It has made a remarkable comeback recently, and in 2019 it was removed from the Endangered Species List after most of its habitat was destroyed by logging and neglectful forest fire regimes a century ago.
The Caribbean Islands are home to Kirtland’s warblers during the winter. The Bahamas are home to these animals.
24. NORTHERN PARULA
Scientific name: Setophaga americana
The arrangement of the white eyepatch and the fluttering way it flies make the Northern parula an attractive bird, not just due to its gray-blue, yellow, brown, and white feathers.
In the eastern United States, there are several spots of Northern Parulas. They like to sit on the ends of branches and look for insects in the forest canopy. Central America and the Caribbean Islands are where they spend the winter.