Mangrove Yellow Warbler

As noted in my prior post on the migratory northern yellow warbler (Setophaga aestiva), there are now two yellow warbler species, the non-migratory mangrove yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia) being the second. It primarily inhabits the narrow strips of mangroves along the coast of North America, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. It has a variable amount of chestnut streaking on the breast and on the head. The streaking is more prominent in adult males and less in females, in fact the chestnut on the head may be entirely absent in females. There are 28 subspecies in this new classification. There is a petechia group that is largely chestnut-capped found in the Caribbean and an erithachorides group, chestnut-hooded, found in coastal Central and northern South America. 

I've seen ssp. aureola, the Galapagos mangrove yellow warbler, found in the Galapagos Islands and Cocos Island off Costa Rica. I saw it in August 2022 near Espinosa Point on Fernandina Island (see four photos below). I saw a male. 

Illustration of ssp. aureola, a female, from Birds of the World. 

Illustration of ssp. aureola, a male, from Birds of the World. 

The one I saw most recently, in March on Caye Caulker in Belize, is ssp. bryanti, found on the Caribbean coast from southeast Mexico (Campeche) south to southern Nicaragua. If it had been a male, it would have had a beautiful chestnut hood, but as a female it had no chestnut on the head at all. 

The range of the mangrove yellow warbler, from Birds of the World, follows:

Note that it is limited to the coastal regions.