Ann & Rob Simpson

Prothonotary Warbler spreading its tail while preening. Appropriately called the...

Caption: Prothonotary Warbler spreading its tail while preening. Appropriately called the "Golden Swamp Warbler" by Audubon. It inhabits wooded wetlands, river edges and swamps of the Carolinian zone in Eastern North America. Although it is a common representative species of the Great southern swamps, it does breed all the way to southern Ontario, Canada, at Point Pelee National Park and Rondeau Provincial Park. This neotropical migrant winters from the Yucatan in Mexico to northern South America. It is a declining species suffering from loss of habitat on both it's breeding and wintering grounds. The species is a frequent cowbird host.
Scientific name: Protonoaria citrea
Location: Shenandoah River, Virginia, U.S.A
Copyright: © Ann & Rob Simpson
AGPix ID: AGPix_RoAnSi18_0052
Photo Alignment: 35mm (vertical)
Comments: Unlike most warblers, this species nests in tree cavities. Old woodpecker holes may be used or they may excavate a hole in very rotten stumps. They will also use Bluebird boxes that are placed over standing water in a swamp. They are frequent host to Cowbirds, which act as a nest parasite. One Prothonotary nest had seven cowbird eggs and no warbler eggs. They show interspecific aggression towards other cavity nesters like bluebirds, wrens and woodpeckers. This species typifies the swamps of the south-eastern United States. The Great Dismal swamp Wildlife Refuge and First Landing (Seashore) State Park, Virginia, ring with thier song. We have a very comprehensive selection of birds, especially the hard to find and hard to photograph species.