Golden-winged warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 3

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Species information

Morphological description

The Golden-winged Warbler is a small (9-11 g) wood warbler. Both sexes of adults have white underparts, grey back and wings, and a patch of yellow on each wing. Males have a striking black throat and eye patch which is a soft grey in females (Figure 1). Both sexes also have a yellow crown patch, although this tends to be much brighter in after second-year males than in second year males and females.

Figure 1.  Male (left) and female (right) Golden-winged Warblers (photos by Rachel Fraser)

These birds could initially be confused with the Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus; Confer 1992) that exhibits the same black throat patch and foraging style. However, the smaller size as well as the yellow patches on the wings and crown can easily distinguish them. If seen, it is unlikely that the Golden-winged Warbler would be confused with any other wood warbler species, except Golden-winged X Blue-winged Warbler hybrids (see Interspecific interactions section below).  Identification by song can be more difficult, especially when considering hybrids.

Genetic description

Golden-winged Warblers belong to the order Passeriformes (Perching Birds) and the Family Parulidae (Wood Warblers). Currently Golden-winged Warblers are considered members of the Vermivora genus that contains a total of nine species in North America. Recent phylogenetic work suggests that the genus Vermivora may be polyphyletic; Golden-winged Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers are not closely allied to any other Vermivora, except perhaps the extinct Bachman’s Warbler (V. bachmanii; I. Lovette, pers. comm.).  These three species may be the only true Vermivora species, as the Blue-winged Warbler is the type-species for the genus (Klein et al. 2004).