Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 3
Species Information
Name and classification
This is a monotypic genus; and no subspecies or races are recognized (Petit 1999).
Morphological description
The Prothonotary Warbler is one of North America’s most dazzling songbirds. Males and females look alike, but males are more brightly coloured. Both have golden yellow heads and breasts, olive-green backs, and blue-grey wings and tails. Prothonotary Warblers do not have wing bars, but white tail spots are quite prominent. Though rather large for a warbler, Prothonotary Warblers are small birds, weighing about 14 grams, and measuring about 14 cm long (see Petit 1999). The male’s territorial song is a loud, ringing “tsweeet-tsweet-tsweet-tsweet,” usually uttered in a rapid series of 4-6 notes, but sometimes nonstop up to 14 times (Bryan et al. 1987).
Genetic description
No genetic information is available, but there is little variation in morphometric or plumage characters across the species’ range (Petit 1999). In addition, Bryan et al. (1987) documented a surprising level of uniformity in songs of the Prothonotary Warbler across eastern North America. These observations suggest little genetic structuring within the population.