Geothlypis Trichas
Order Passeriformes
Family Parulidae
Other names: Northern Yellow-throat, Maryland Yellow-throat
♂ Adult male.— Upper parts deep olive-green in strong light; forehead and broad line through eye black, bordered above by ashy gray; throat and breast bright yellow; belly yellowish.
♀ Adult female.— Without the black or ashy lines; throat and breast yellowish; belly whitish.
Nest, on the ground or in a tussock, a deep structure of leaves and grasses.
Eggs, speckled with brown at the larger end.
The Northern Yellow-throat (known formerly as the Maryland Yellow-throat) is a common summer resident of all New England and New York, arriving early in May and staying till October. In southern New England it is largely confined to swampy thickets, or the bushy borders of streams; but farther north, where the upland is ill-drained, it is common in the roadside bushes, even on the hills. Its mask of black, like a domino, contrasting with its bright yellow throat, its nervous actions, twitchings of the tail, and manner of climbing up the stalks of reeds or twigs, all serve to call attention to it and to fix its appearance in the mind.
The Yellow-throat’s song is loud and emphatic and attracts attention. It varies in different localities, but the same form is generally used by birds of one region; there are dialects, in other words. Three common forms are, (a) wee’see-see, weel-see-see, wee’-see-see, (b) wee-see’-ser, wee-seelser, wee-see’-ser, and (c) wee-see-see’-see, wee-see-see’-see, wee-see-see’-see. At intervals the male mounts a short distance into the air, and while descending utters a series of chips, followed by a bit of the ordinary song. The callnote is a rather loud tchek; the bird has also a rapid, rather wren-like chatter; in fact, its form and many of its actions suggest a wren, but no wren shows yellow anywhere.
The female, though less conspicuous, may be distinguished from other small yellow-throated birds by the low, wet situation where she is found, and by her nervous ways. No Pine Warbler would be found in the places which she frequents; the occasional Nashville Warbler or female Yellow Warbler that might occur there would be yellow or yellowish on the belly, as well as on the throat.
Hoffmann – A Guide to the Birds of New England and Eastern New York (1904)