Belding's yellowthroat (''Geothlypis beldingi'') is a

New World warbler The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Most ...

. It is a resident breeder

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the southern Baja California Peninsula (Mexico). It is closely related to

common yellowthroat The common yellowthroat (''Geothlypis trichas'') is a New World warbler. In the U.S. Midwest, it is also known as the yellow bandit. It is an abundant breeder in North America, ranging from southern Canada to central Mexico. The genus name ''Geot ...

Altamira yellowthroat The Altamira yellowthroat (''Geothlypis flavovelata'') is a New World warbler. It is a resident breeding bird endemic (ecology), endemic to the Gulf slope of northeastern Mexico.Curson, Quinn and Beadle, ''New World Warblers'' It is closely rel ...

and

Bahama yellowthroat The Bahama yellowthroat (''Geothlypis rostrata'') is a New World warbler. It is a resident breeder endemic to the Bahamas. Taxonomy It is closely related to common yellowthroat, Altamira yellowthroat and Belding's yellowthroat, and is also consi ...

, with which it forms a superspecies, and was formerly considered conspecific. The breeding habitat is freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es and

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

s, usually with

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...

s. It builds a cup nest of dead cattails which is usually attached to low on the stem of a living cattail. It lays 2-4 eggs, usually 3. Like other

yellowthroat The yellowthroats are New World warblers in the genus ''Geothlypis''. Most members of the group have localised ranges in Mexico and Central America, but the masked yellowthroat has an extensive South American distribution, while the common yell ...

s it forages low in vegetation and feeds on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and other small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. The Belding's yellowthroat is 14 cm long with an olive-green back and bright yellow belly. The adult male of the southern nominate race ''G. b. beldingi'' has yellow underparts, a black facemask and yellow forecrown. The female is similar, but lacks the black mask and has an olive crown. It is similar to Altamira yellowthroat, but separated from it by the width of Mexico. This race has been drastically affected by habitat loss, and is now restricted to several small marshes in southernmost Baja California he estero at San Jose del Cabo and the lagoon at Todo Santos; August, 2007 The male of the northern subspecies ''G. b.goldmaii'' has a pale belly and grey forecrown, making it very similar to some

non-migratory Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

southwestern races of common yellowthroat, which, however, do not overlap in range. It is larger and slightly brighter than the migratory races of common yellowthroat which winter in Baja California, and the male's mask extends further onto the nape than is the case with the visitors. This race is still fairly common, but its range is shrinking through habitat loss. The song of Belding's yellowthroat is a loud ''wichety wichety wichety wich'', similar to that of common yellowthroat but deeper, fuller, and with some buzzes. The call is a soft ''jip'', again similar to common yellowthroat. This species is named for

Lyman Belding Lyman Belding (June 12, 1829 – November 22, 1917) was a prominent American ornithologist. Biography Lyman Belding was born to Joshua Belding and Rosetta Cooley Belding on June 12, 1829, at West Farms, Massachusetts, but later moved to Kin ...

, a prominent

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

n naturalist.

References

''New World Warblers'' by Curson, Quinn and Beadle,

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q138371

Belding's Yellowthroat Belding's yellowthroat (''Geothlypis beldingi'') is a New World warbler. It is a resident breeder endemic to the southern Baja California Peninsula (Mexico). It is closely related to common yellowthroat, Altamira yellowthroat and Bahama yellow ...

Endemic birds of Western Mexico Endemic fauna of the Baja California Peninsula

Belding's yellowthroat Belding's yellowthroat (''Geothlypis beldingi'') is a New World warbler. It is a resident breeder endemic to the southern Baja California Peninsula (Mexico). It is closely related to common yellowthroat, Altamira yellowthroat and Bahama yellow ...

Taxa named by Robert Ridgway